


Blood stained blueberries

by Sunflowereevee



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Animal Traits, Anti hero Nathaniel, Bisexual Luka, Bisexual Nathaniel, Black Cat Nathaniel, Blood and Violence, Everyone knows Ladybug is Marinette, Hawk moth still at large, Hurt Adrian, Hurt Nathaniel, M/M, Multi, One part adorable relationships one part horrible murder, Pregnancy, They gonna bang at some point, everyone is hurt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2019-10-27 20:02:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 43,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17773355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunflowereevee/pseuds/Sunflowereevee
Summary: It all started when Ladybug and Chat Noir found the location of Hawk moth. They had a plan and a good one at that…but something went wrong.Ladybug was killed.Hawk moth stole her miraculous and disappeared without a trace.Without Ladybug there was no way to cure the akumantized, to repair the damage they caused. Chat tried to stop them but it wasn’t long before Paris turned on him, desperate to get Hawk moth to stop.Maybe it was too much, to lose his lady then the trust of his people. Chat vanished one night never to return, he gave up the power of destruction.A year later a new Chat Noir appeared…but he is nothing like the old. He began to hunt the akuma and end their terror permanently. Lately he has been displaying the bodies, using their blood to taunt Hawk moth. Without creation he is unbalanced, losing sense of himself.He calls himself Nacht Katze.





	1. Nacht and day

**Author's Note:**

> When you want to read a particular story and can't find it, you must write it. So here I am writing a much darker fic than I have done before. With the underrated ship of the blueberry and the tomato.

It all started when Ladybug and Chat Noir found the location of Hawk moth. They had a plan and a good one at that…but something went wrong.

Ladybug was killed.

Hawk moth stole her miraculous and disappeared without a trace.

Without Ladybug there was no way to cure the akumantized, to repair the damage they caused. Chat tried to stop them but it wasn’t long before Paris turned on him, desperate to get Hawk moth to stop.

Maybe it was too much, to lose his lady then the trust of his people. Chat vanished one night never to return, he gave up the power of destruction.

A year later a new Chat Noir appeared…but he is nothing like the old. He began to hunt the akuma and end their terror permanently. Lately he has been displaying the bodies, using their blood to taunt Hawk moth. Without creation he is unbalanced, losing sense of himself. 

He calls himself Nacht Katze.

Ten years since the fall of Ladybug

Adrien stepped out of his white car careful not to spill his travel cup of coffee. His eyes trail over a scene he was getting far too used to seeing. Police “do not cross” tape blocked the entrance to the subway, and other officers were hard at work keeping onlookers at a safe distance. One in a baseball cap catches his eye and smiles warmly at him; Adrien forces a similar expression and moves to meet his friend.

“You never did grow out of showing up fashionably late did you” Nino chirps walking with Adrian over to the entrance to the subway. 

“Well this face doesn’t get this perfect by accident” Adrien says with a smirk. His super model genes having sculpted his face quite nicely after puberty. He was cleanly shaven and had some thin frames decorating his eyes. 

“I’ll never understand how you could replace living the high life for this dump” Nino sighs finishing his coffee and throwing the paper cup into a trash can. It clanged loudly than settled in the mostly empty bin.

“I could say the same for you; I thought for sure you were going into film making” 

Nino shook his head and chuckled “I uh wanted to help people, wanted to protect them”. He moves the “do not enter” tape to let Adrien slip under when a female voice shouts over to them.

“Baby can you get me a shot for my story?” Alya calls waving her phone excitedly. Adrian can’t help the smile that came to his face seeing Alya exactly as he remembered her. She wore a red suit and had her poofy hair tied in a bun, the real professional reporter look. 

“Sorry babe, no can do” Nino replies with a smug smile that said he had done this plenty of times before. Alya made a pouty face but shrugged and went to bug a young officer for details. 

“So who’s the victim this time?” Adrien says once they were in the subway and away from the outside noise. 

“Le Chien Kim AKA Dark Cupid, age 25, employees found him early this morning” Nino says as the body comes into view.   
Adrien would never get used to the smell, that horrible stench of dried blood and spilled remains. Kim or rather Dark Cupid was pinned against the wall opposite the walking platform by his own arrows. His wings were stretched as far as they could go and pinned by more arrows to keep them that way. His head was drooped somewhat for all to see the telltale sign of Nacht Katze, a bloody chunk of flesh missing from the neck. But the thing that really caught his attention was the message written in blood above the body “I WILL FIND YOU”.

“Shit” is all Adrien can think to say. 

Nino nods and turns at the sound of footsteps. Two more officers walked over to them, one an older blonde who turned a little green seeing the body. The other was senior officer Raincomplix; he took one look at the body than towards the boys with sorrow, another old classmate gone long before their time

“Retirement can’t come soon enough” Roger mutters pulling out a blue tarp and placing it under dark cupid’s body. 

Adrien puts on a stern face and pulls his gun out from its holder, the other officers doing the same. “Alright is everyone ready?” he asks and everyone nods. He carefully approaches the body while the others readied their weapons. Adrian bit his tongue to stop a gag as he put on a glove to search Dark Cupid. He finds a darkened box hidden in Dark Cupid’s belt. The blood mixed with the akuma darkness. He moves the box over to the platform and places it on the ground gently. 

“Whatever happens you can’t let the akuma escape” Adrien says looking towards the blonde. She nods and points her gun at the box.

Adrian hits the box with his gun and quickly moves out of the way, the akuma takes to the air and gunshots ring though the empty subway. The first and second bullet miss, but the third fired by Adrien hits its mark and the akuma shatters into a hundred pieces.

Outside Adrien approaches another old classmate siting on the ground on the other end of the police tape. Max Kante was still short but could pass as an adult when he stood up. He looked at Adrien with wide eyes as he’s handed a broken ring box “I think this was meant for you” Adrian says softly. 

Max ripped open the bag to study the box easier, not caring that dried blood came off like dust. He opened it to reveal the ring inside, a simple golden band. Tears sprang to Max’s eyes and his legs gave out “this is my fault” he sobs clenching the ring to his chest. “I thought it was a fucking joke, I’m such a fucking idiot” Adrien can only put a hand on Max’s shoulder as Max sobs quietly. 

“We’ll find him and stop him-“Adrien mutters turning his head to watch Nino talking to the reporters including his wife “-he can’t hide forever”.

“Thank you for stopping by, have a good day” Nathaniel chirps for what had to be the thousandth time that day. The old couple smile with their bags of freshly baked bread and give him a wave as they leave the bakery. 

The bakeries owner, Tom Dupain poked his head out from the back. “Nath can you help me with these boxes?” he asks moving away before Nath could answer. Nathaniel looks over at his wife and co-owner Sabine who smiles as warmly as the cinnamon cookies she placed in the display box. She gestures with her hand for him to go and he eagerly leaves the register.

Once he’s in the back Tom hands him a box that he nearly drops from the sudden weight “what do you have in here, bowling balls?” he grunts following Tom to the storage area.  
“Just flour and oats” Tom says with a toothy grin. He sets down the three boxes he carried and flexes “soon I’ll have you with guns like these and you’ll be able to lift those easily”.  
Nathaniel would have chuckled had he not been too concentrated on not dropping the box. He places it with the others with a huge grunt and runs a hand though his hair. His shoulder length fire truck of hair was tied back in a bun as required for working in a bakery. 

Later Nathaniel assists Sabine in making dinner for that night, on top of hiring him as extra help the bakers had allowed him to rent Marinette’s old room for real cheap. He finished tossing the salad and followed her to the table. They ate while engaging in pleasant conversation, telling stories of bizarre costumers to Tom. Nearing the end of the meal Sabine gets up and goes to the fridge. She comes back with three glasses and a bottle of red wine. “I’d like to make a toast” she starts after clearing her throat; almost nervously she opens the bottle and pours everyone a glass. Tom offers her a hand that she takes as she sits back down. “Today would be Marinette’s twenty fifth, birthday” she explains as if the other two weren’t aware. 

Sabine’s eyes tear up but she forces her emotions down “Marinette you are the most amazing daughter, you are wonderful and kind and loving…”   
Nathaniel awkwardly takes his glass as Sabine continued “had you been here I know for sure you would have a man on your arms by now, maybe even a bun in the oven”. Sabine hiccuped on tears that began to fall, Tom tightened his grip on her hand but was unable to stop even his own. 

“Then she would be complaining that we’re drinking her good wine while she has to sip apple juice, then trip over the air and spill wine on her new dress she made” Nathaniel said making both parents look up at him. Tom is first to giggle and wipe away his tears, Sabine’s face turned red and she laughed as well.

“That sounds about right, Marinette always did have two left feet” Tom says lifting his glass and clink it with the others “to Marinette”.

“To Marinette” the others echo than swallow their drinks without really tasting it. 

Nathaniel closes the hatch to his room and takes his hair out of the elastic “Plagg come on out” he says stretching the elastic like one would a slingshot. When there’s no movement in the still painfully bright pink room he takes aim and shoots a little black ball on top of the bed of pillows. 

The Kwami falls and curses loudly “hey I was napping” Plagg whined rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

“You’ve been sleeping all day, time for patrol” Nathaniel hummed picking Plagg up by the tail and heading towards the balcony. 

“Maybe we should take a break tonight” Plagg says getting out of Nath’s hand and floating in the air. “After what happened last night we should lay low” Nath looks down for a second in thought. Plagg’s eyes soften as he continues “that’s the third kill this month, you really have to be more careful”.

“It’s not my fault they got too close to my claws” Nath snaps making the kwami flinch. “Besides its Marinette’s birthday, someone is bound to be upset enough to get akumantized”.

“Kid you have to stop” Plagg tries again “none of this will bring Marc back”. 

An elastic band snaps in Nathaniel’s eyes and he swipes at the kwami “don’t you DARE talk about him”. Plagg easily avoids the boy who turns to him with an animalistic growl “we’re heading out, Plagg claws out”.

Nathaniel held the ringed hand in front of his face as Plagg absorbs into it. He opens his eyes and though his fingers his eyes shift into cat slits. A mask forms over the eyes and Nath drags a hand though his hair. The limp hair becomes frizzy and wild like a lions mane with two large cat ears sticking out the top. The magic covers his body with leather like material that was similar to Chat’s minus the bell around the neck. His tail flicked out looking like a black scarf rather than a belt. He winced and opened his mouth and his canines grew into dangerous fangs. He smiled once they were done and posed by bending low looking like a cat ready to pounce.

Nacht opens the window and sighs “happy birthday Ladybug” he mutters taking off into the night. 

It was years ago when he had first found Chat Noir’s ring beside a trash can. When Plagg had appeared both of them jumped in surprise creating quite the racket. After some explaining Nathaniel couldn’t believe his luck, although he didn’t like the idea of keeping it a secret from his boyfriend. As he slipped out of the ally he bumped into an old man in a bright red t shirt. He meant to apologise but the man was clearly distracted by something. 

For the next few months he used the ring during the night, running over rooftops and getting a hang of his new powers. Whenever an akuma appeared the best he could do was destroy the akumantized object than the butterfly with a cataclysm. He wasn’t loved by the people in any way, in fact most of the time he had to run after saving the ungrateful jerks. Hawk moth would demand his miraculous and he would try his hardest to find his secret lair.   
The real kicker was when the attack happened, an akuma named oh so cleverly train wreaker. He was late to one too many trains and as result was akumantized with the ability to make the trains explode into fireballs. Nath would always remember the explosion, the people running for their lives, and his boyfriend Marc with a metal beam though his torso. 

“Stay with me Marc” Nathaniel pleaded lifting Marc’s head to cradle it on his lap.

“Nath you need to get out of here” Marc hissed gasping for breath, which was a challenge when half your lungs were blocked by steel. 

“Not without you” Nath sobbed looking at the beam helplessly; it was far too large for him to move on his own. He looks around to see the subway had emptied aside from train wrecker being an annoyance to another now empty train. 

“It’s too late kid” Plagg whispers peeking out from under his hair. Nath looks back at Marc to see he had stopped breathing his eyes frozen on him. Nath can’t remember if he pleaded or just sobbed quietly. His hands became covered in Marc’s blood and he held Marc wishing he would just wake up from this nightmare. 

He glares up at Train wrecker and Plagg can feel the air grow hotter around them. It was a dangerous furious heat. “Plagg claws out” with that he’s sucked inside the ring and Nathaniel is covered in the kwami magic. Instead of a light it took on the appearance of a black slime, Nathaniel let out an animalistic howl as it reached his head and gave him fangs. 

It took the staff months to remove every piece of flesh off the walls.

Back in the present Nacht’s hair bounces with each step he took across the rooftops. He’s humming a song to himself as he jumps to the next one easily. His ears twitch and he looks to the side to see an akuma butterfly flying right beside him. “Bold little fucker aren’t you?” Nacht purred watching the butterfly fly towards a particular apartment building. Nacht’s eyes seem to glow with excitement and he follows close behind. 

“Alya, can you please calm down. We’re trying our best” Nino is saying with strained patience to his wife on the other side of the bed they shared.

“Nacht Katz doesn’t deserve a miraculous and you know it” Alya huffed getting out of the bed phone in hand. “We need to track down the guardian Ladybug was talking about and get our miraculous’s back. We have to stop him once and for all.”

“But we don’t even have a clue where to start; besides I don’t think protection and illusion are enough to take down destruction. I don’t want you to get hurt Alya especially…” he stops in horror seeing an akuma absorb into Alya’s phone. “Alya don’t listen to him!”

Alya doesn’t respond gasping in air with the butterfly mask in front of her face. Hawk moth’s velvety voice in her ear “we have to stop him” she says getting covered in the akuma slime.

“ALYA NO” Nino cries rushing over and taking her hands, when the slime clears Alya is gone and Lady Wi-Fi is in her place.

“I can stop him Nino, I promise to” Lady Wi-Fi spoke softly and pushed her husband away. She stands tall and a baton suddenly slams into the back of her head. She cries out and falls onto the dresser. 

“Two akuma’s in a row, it must be my birthday” Nacht laughs as Lady Wi-Fi recovers and shoots a pause at him. He dodges and pounces on her, sending them both out of the bedroom and into the kitchen/living room. 

Nacht ducks behind the kitchen island and throws plates at her. Lady freezes each in the air walking closer to her target. She leans over the island only for him to pounce on her and claw at her face. The razor sharp claws tear out clumps of her hair and leave gashes over her face. Lady Wi-Fi moves to fire another attack with her phone only for Nacht to bite her arm. She cries out in pain and he jumps off her, for a moment she’s confused. But based off his cheeky smile as he circled her he was toying with her.

“Nice try Alya I’ll admit I’ll miss you and Nino’s antics” Nacht purrs bending low and flashing his fangs. 

Suddenly there’s a loud bang and Nacht falls off the island clenching his side. Lady Wi-Fi grabs her phone only for another bullet to destroy the device. She curses as the akuma flies out and the power dissolves off her. The akuma doesn’t get far before its shot to pieces. Nacht glares at Nino who is now pointing the gun at his head “give me one good reason why I shouldn’t blow your head off.”

“Because you love me” Nacht purrs clicking his baton making it extend into the ceiling light. There’s a horrible electrical bang and the apartment is blown into darkness. Nino recovers from the smoke to see Nacht had escaped into the night. He rushes over to Alya and checks her for injuries, nothing serious but her face was pretty bloody.

“Let’s get you looked at” he says helping her to her feet and grabbing his car keys. Alya doesn’t reply but follows without a fight. 

The doctor was another of their old classmates, Rose cleaned Alya’s wounds and bandaged the ones on her arms. “You’re going to need stitches on the one on your cheek” Rose states writing down something on her chart. She leaves to grab the supplies leaving the two alone in the room.

“Alya” Nino starts but Alya cuts him off.

“I know Nino…I just want Nacht to be stopped. He’s a bigger danger than Hawk moth at this point” Alya threw a dirty alcohol wipe into the trash with a sigh.

“We’ll stop him, I shot him remember?” Nino says sitting beside her on the bed. “He’ll have to stop sometime and there are only so many places he can go”.

Nacht lands on the top of a tree and winces. He puts a hand over where Nino had shot him and clenched his teeth. The magical suit had protected it for the most part, but there was enough damage that it was bleeding. His own claws worked against him and removed the scab his skin had worked so hard on. He growls and licks the crimson off his claws, stupid akuma bullets. He crawls on the branch until he could see the graves. Surrounded by thousands of flowers, candles, letters and art was Ladybug’s gravestone. A statue of her reached to the sky with insect wings on her back. Most important was the lone hooded figure kneeling in front of the grave whispering something. Nacht ignored the pain in his side in favor of playing his favorite game.

“Hey Chat Noir” the figure slowly stands and looks to the voice. Nacht lay on Ladybug’s head with his icy eyes glowing in the dark “how’s your night going, mine had a few scratches”. Nacht dragged his claws down the statue’s face leaving scratch marks in the stone.

Chat’s face couldn’t be seen under the hood, but his fist shook at his sides. “You’ve been hunting again” he sounded disappointed, like a tired father with his naughty son. 

“Just caught a butterfly on patrol, no biggie” Nacht sat on the statue’s head and his tail curled around its neck. His eyes flashed “Alya Cesaire, used to be her biggest fan” the tail patted the stone.

“You didn’t” Chat growled taking a step towards him. As if on cue his phone buzzed with a text, his hands itched to check it. To make sure it wasn’t about another body, that Nacht was lying to get a rise out of him. 

“What would you do if I did?” Nacht purred with a smile “would you finally fight to gain your miraculous back, show me once and for all who the real wielder of destruction is?” Nacht pounced down in front of Chat. Chat took a step back and Nacht laughed “still a coward”. Chat didn’t say anything; he threw his hands in his pockets and turned to leave.

Nacht frowned at that, he wasn’t done yet. He took a step to follow and his head spun; enough he had lean on the ladybug statue to avoid falling over. He gives one last scornful look at Chat and eyed the millions of flowers keeping the ladybug statue company. He stomps on the biggest red rose than leaves the way he came. Without being seen or heard.

Nacht stumbles into his room and drops the costume. He’s caught off guard by the pain that suddenly shook though him. Nath falls to the ground grabbing at his side and lets out a cry of pain. Plagg gets to work grabbing towels from under the bed and shoving one in Nath’s mouth. The other goes to his side where a small amount of blood was leaking out. “Honestly kid you should be more careful, without you how am I supposed to get my cheese” he throws Nath a pitiful look but Nath isn’t paying attention. 

“The bullet shouldn’t have hurt this much” he whines into the towel. Plagg throws some alcohol on it and Nathaniel lets out a muffled howl. 

“This is nothing compared to my hunger pains” Plagg finishes cleaning the wound and slaps a large band aid over the hole harder than necessary. Nath yelps and moves his leg to kick him. Plagg easily flies out of the way and into a small fridge under the computer desk. He pops out with a chunk in his paws and takes a small bite out of it.

“Taking the time to enjoy it this time” Nath mumbles now using the towel as a makeshift pillow.

“You’re not as loaded as my last wielder, I have to make my stash last” despite saying this Plagg shoves the last of the slice into his face.

That hit a nerve “well sorry that I’m not able to spoil you your highness” Nath hisses crawling over to his bed and rolling into it. Plagg’s ears droop and he floats over to him. Nathaniel stared at a box resting by the bed until exhaustion took over. Plagg dragged a thin blanket over him and made his own bed out of Nath’s hair. Eventually Nathaniel’s slow breathing lured him to sleep. 

The next morning in a much more upscale penthouse Rose pushed the front door open and face planted into the white couch. Juleka walked by in her purple housecoat and smiled warmly “Rose you’re still wearing your scrubs. You’re getting all kinds of germs on the furniture”.

“That’s not my problem” Rose moves her head slightly so she could be understood. 

“You’re the one who was all paranoid about getting us sick” Juleka teases sitting on the couch and putting Rose’s head in her lap. 

“That was before I had to take night shifts” Rose whines and Juleka pats her head. “And now you’re going to smell like stinky hospital”.

“Guess we’ll have to take a shower, we could always save water by going in together”.

“I’m too tired to make soap beards with you” Rose cries making Juleka chuckle. At that moment Luka walks by in his bright blue hoodie. His hand grabs the doorknob of the front door and Rose calls out “cinnamon bun with extra frosting and hot chocolate”.

“What makes you think I’m going to the bakery?” Luka asks taking his headphones out. 

“Because you know my wife needs sugar after a long shift” Juleka states proudly. “I’ll have mocha with a chocolate muffin” she adds with a devilish smile.

Luka sighs dramatically “okay fine, I guess I can take a few minutes out of my day to get your girls breakfast even though there’s a kitchen right there”. He gestures to the fantastic kitchen on the other side of the place that had a thin sheet of dust over it from lack of use.

“Get going or I’ll make you start paying rent” Rose snaps jabbing a finger roughly in his direction. 

“Yes ma’am” Luka slams the door behind him. 

“What can I get for you today?” Nathaniel says his line without looking up. A masculine hand leans on the counter with nails that were bewitching. They were blue swirls with enough shades they looked like the inside of an ocean wave. Nathaniel looks up to find the owner of the hand was just as pleasing to the eye. His hair was blue with black closer to the roots. He wore black earrings and had another in the corner of his lip. His hoodie hid his build for the most bit but Nath suspected he had a good share of muscle. And his eyes, shit Nath had never seen eyes that looked like they could pierce straight though him. 

Sabine clears her throat and Nath snaps out of his ogling. “Luka, just the usual for you?” she asks already picking up the tongs. 

“Yes Mrs. Cheng” Luka answers holding out his hand to Nath. It takes Nath a second to remember to take the cash Luka held out and put it in the register.

“You know you can call me Sabine” Sabine teases and puts a pink bow on the paper bag. Something she knew Rose absolutely loved. “Are you getting coffee for them as well?” she adds with a sneaky smirk that lasted just a second. Luka nods and Sabine grabs Nathaniel away from another costumer “I can handle things here, Nathaniel would you mind picking me up some coffee? Luka knows the best place to get it”.

“Since when did you drink coffee?” Nathaniel blurts as she pretty much shoves him out the door along with Luka. She plucks off his apron and wraps it up under her arm with lightning speed.

“Since yesterday, now shoo you need to get out of the bakery more often” Sabine closes the door in their faces. 

Luka chuckled and Nathaniel’s face matched his hair. “She always was rather pushy” Luka opens the bag and pulls out a peanut butter cookie “cookie?”

“No thanks” Nathanial shakes his head, Luka shrugs and takes a delicate bite out of his. 

The coffee place was just up the block, a sign out front advertised the best hot chocolate in all of France. Luka held the door open for him and they walked inside. The last time Nathaniel smelled coffee like this he was still in university trying to get his art degree. He used to drink it by the gallon with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. Marc used to tell him his blood would turn to caffeine if he didn’t stop. 

“So you want the dark roast?” Luka asks bringing Nathaniel out of his thoughts. Luka held out a bag of the caffeine goodness. Nathaniel’s face flushed but he took the bag with a quiet thank you. If only so Luka would take those piercing eyes off him. 

“Nathaniel? Tomato head is that you?” A familiar voice calls to him and Nath nearly drops the bag. Alix had grown her hair out since he last saw her. It was still pink but with and added green streak the same colour as her wheelchair. She wore a long black dress to hide her legs, or lack thereof. “Thought I’d never see you out of the bakery” she stopped in front of him with her usual cheeky smirk. “And on a date no less, hi Luka” she held her fist out and Luka bumped it.

“Not quite a date, we just met” Luka chuckled. “So you don’t get out that much huh?” he nudged Nathaniel’s side playfully. Nath set the bag down on a table and fidgeted with a silver ring on his hand. 

“You know I’ve just been busy with the bakery” 

“Come on, Mr. Dupain would surely let you go for a day. I still need you to jazz up my wheels here” Alix slaps the sides of her wheelchair. “I was thinking like blue lightning with snakes eating a black cat” Nath bit his lip but she didn’t take notice of his discomfort “Nacht Katz may have taken my legs but he can never destroy my spirit”.

“Nice” Luka chirped now with a cardboard tray with drinks. He said something else to her but Nathaniel was looking elsewhere. On a small TV Alya Cesaire was reporting, her face still bandaged from last night. The sound was mute but he could figure out what it was about. It cut over to a field where a familiar face was calling out into a microphone. Roger had been turned back into Roger cop; undoubtedly he was calling out Nacht for his arrest. Nathaniel sighed and Alix grabbed his arm making him jump. 

“Nath I know you weren’t exactly close but I want you to join us at the school tonight”. Alix’s eyes shake slightly “we’re celebrating Kim’s life”. 

“I um” Nath looks back at the TV than to her. “I’ll think about it” with that he runs out of the coffee shop like his tail was on fire. 

Alix sighs and crosses her arms. Luka picked up the coffee bag Nath had left and heads out after him. 

“Nacht Katz, you are under arrest” Roger cop announces in his robotic voice from atop his fancy car. He was surrounded by his police force each with batons and shields. Nacht was outnumbered, yet he wore the same cocky expression he always did. He spun his baton lazily with one hand and stabbed the earth. 

“Let’s just skip to the part where I defeat you” Nacht eyed the crowd that was gathering around them. He frowns spotting Luka in said crowd, what was that idiot doing? 

Roger cop fires the first shot and Nacht runs on all fours to dodge. He didn’t go directly for Roger cop, instead going to the police squad. Nacht steals a shield from the first one and chucks it at Roger cop’s head. It bounces off confusing the robot man long enough for Nacht to take out half the squad with a series of fast kicks and punches. 

Luka cocked his head watching Nacht snake his arm around one squad man and likely dislocate the shoulder. He was hurting them sure but Nacht had yet to use his fangs, claws or even the rarely used cataclysm. 

“Freeze Nacht” Roger cop orders and fires multiple blue and red hand cuffs. “Hand over your miraculous and I’ll remove one of your eight life sentences” Roger drones switching to a laser that almost cuts Nacht’s tail off. 

“I don’t think you can do that” Nacht jokes rather lamely. He spins the baton around his front and back to take out the last three of the squad. Roger fires another laser that Nacht had to duck to avoid. He has to roll to dodge a cuff attack and winces. One hand went to his old injury; all the movement must have reopened it. Roger decides to switch to physical attacks and moves to punch him. Nacht grabs the shirt of one officer with his teeth and yanks him away before the punch destroyed him along with the ground. Nacht pounced away from the crumpled bodies of the police force and towards a giant tree. Roger cop’s car flies over and Roger rides on top of it for added speed. 

“Nowhere to run” Roger cop fires more cuffs that get wedged in the wood. Nacht stops in front of it and can’t stop himself from grabbing his injury again. Roger speed forward and Nacht moves away at the last second. The car crashes into the tree and pieces of it go flying into the air.

Luka gasps at the car door flying towards him and ducks. Before it can hit Nacht jumps in front of him and slashed the door in two with his claws. He extends the baton to slap back every stray piece of car before it hit the crowd. Nacht looks back at Luka and flashes his fangs, but there’s no heart to it. 

Nacht dashes over to Roger cop as he falls out of the car. His akuma form meant he was a robot and blood had been replaced with electrical wires. Nacht pounced on him and found the akumantized whistle on his chest. He’s just about to destroy it when he notices Alya still doing her report and she sends him the coldest look she could muster. She wasn’t afraid of him, and if she wasn’t then others would be soon to follow. Nacht held the whistle in his fist and his ears flattened against his head for a moment.

“LET THIS BE A REMINDER OF WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET AKUMATIZED!” Nacht yells and sinks his fangs into Roger’s neck. Children’s eyes are covered by their parents as he rips it clean from the body. Nacht’s ears are surrounded by screams as he shakes the head around like a wild animal. He throws it down and cracks the whistle in his hands. 

The akuma butterfly takes to the sky and the scene turns gruesome. Nacht moves to kill the butterfly only for a bullet to beat him to it. He gasps and turns to greet Nino and his own squad pointing their guns at him. “I won’t miss this time” Nino promises firing again. 

Nacht grabs a car door and uses it to shield himself as he made a break for it. He dashed into a crowd and they parted to let him pass. Nacht ignored their screams and cries focused on just getting out of there. 

He climbs up a building with wicked speed and doesn’t think to drop the car door until he’s hours away from the crime scene. He throws it down with a bang and leans against a wall. He slides down and wipes some of the blood off his chin. 

He doesn’t have time to think about it because his baton picked up the police radio. Every officer was after him and a helicopter was already in the air. Being dressed like a cat Nacht would stand out like a sore thumb, he had to find a place to hide. 

He stands up and his head spins. His baton reacted and held him up like a cane. Nacht looked down to see his left leg had another mark left by an akuma bullet. The adrenaline was wearing off, great. He spots the helicopter on the horizon and thinks fast by jumping into the nearest open window. His foot knocks over a plant resting on the windowsill. 

He closes the curtains behind him and checks out the room using his night vision. He was dark blue room with guitars on the walls and a computer on the bed. Nacht’s vision blurs and he falls on his hands. He blinks rapidly and finds the plant he had knocked over. A pretty plant with a minty smell to it, before he can stop himself he rubs his head on it.   
Nacht has a goofy grin on his face as he flops over unable to keep his body up any longer. His vision blurs one last time and he shuts his eyes. He would patch his wounds in just a moment; he just needed a little rest.


	2. catnipped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> forgot to mention it earlier but Nacht Katze is night cat in German. I chose it for three reasons, one I think Nathaniel is German and would use it for his secret identity if french was taken. Two is the words were short and sweet. And three is because it has the same initials as Nathaniel and i thought that was funny.

Luka threw open the door with a loud grunt “you guys would not believe what happened on my way home”.

“I saw the whole thing on the news” Juleka jumps off the couch and look him over “I’ve been calling you like crazy what if you’d been hurt?” 

Luka pulls out his phone from his pocket “phone died, sorry to make you worry”.

Juleka sighed and resisted giving Luka a lecture. Her eyes trail him over “I see you ended up wearing breakfast”.

Luka wipes his hands on his pants but it was no use. Everywhere on him was either covered by cinnamon bun goo or the hot chocolate drinks. “The muffin was spared…sort of” Luka holds out a squished muffin. 

Juleka holds her hand up “I’m good thanks” Luka shrugs and eats it in one bite. 

“I’m just going to take a shower” Luka quietly walks past Rose now fast asleep on the couch. 

“Don’t use up all the hot water and keep it down. Rose is exhausted as it is” Juleka orders in a hushed whisper.

“Okay Mummy I won’t” for no reason Luka adopts a British accent. Juleka throws him the finger as he closes his bedroom door behind him. He sighs and throws his bag on his bed and pulls his hoodie off. Underneath he’s wearing a white tank top that shows off the tattoo’s he had on his chest and arms. His left arm had a ladybug with Marinette’s birthday written below. His right arm had Juleka’s guitar and the first lyrics to the bands greatest hit. His chest had the start of a wave pattern he also had on his nails and guitar. He chucks the hoodie on the floor and hears it protest with a very alive whine. 

Nacht whines again from suddenly being unable to see. He had a feeling he was supposed to be doing something, but he couldn’t remember what. His sense of smell was overloaded with the smell of coffee, sugar, that damn cat nip plant and something else. He wiggles trying to find more of that scent; something about it was stronger than the cat nip. 

The hoodie is suddenly pulled away and he’s face to face with the owner of the mysterious scent. It was the pretty boy from the coffee shop, what was his name again? The cat nip is messing with his head again, both of them. And the magical suit with all its abilities such as speeding up healing and protecting him from regular bullets is not helpful right now. The other man’s eyes widen and he backs up slightly. Nacht uncurls himself to follow. His eyes were so pretty, like those crystal candies you could get at the carnival. He wanted to get a closer look. 

Luka voice is caught in his throat, paralysed by fear as Nacht pounced on top of him. Nacht pins Luka’s arms and stares at him, the slit cat eyes widening.  
Nacht cocks his head slightly and puts his face right up next to Luka’s. Luka closed his eyes and waited for the end. A rumble comes from his killer and he whimpers in fear.  
“Pretty” Nacht mumbles as Luka’s held his breath. He straddles him and eyes some dried icing on Luka’s cheek. “Pretty and sticky” he leans in and licks the cheek.

Luka gulps at the prickly tongue. “I was uh” he finds his voice “I was going to have a shower, to clean myself up.” 

“I can help with that” Nacht stops his licking to stare at Luka’s eyes. His attention is then drawn to Luka’s exposed shoulder. His skin was so pale, like white chocolate. Maybe it tasted like it too. Luka let out a whimper as Nacht dragged his tongue on his skin. The slight taste of mocha and cinnamon bun mixed with his salty skin, Nacht was instantly addicted. His licking became rougher and he removed his hands pinning Luka to pull more of the shirt down. 

“Okay easy there tiger” Luka grunts using his now free hands to try and push Nacht off of him. He had to think here, why was the terror of Paris licking him like a lollipop? He looks past Nacht at the mess Nacht had made coming in. Some of Rose’s plants were knocked over and broken. His room had the most time in the sun you see so she had moved all of them in here. There was an African violet, a rosemary…and catnip. He looks back at Nacht and notices the haze in his eyes. Luka’s mouth forms an o and a rumble comes from Nacht’s throat.

“You’ve been cat-nipped” Luka blurts as Nacht caught one of Luka’s fingers and sucked on it. Luka took a deep breath and gently pushed Nacht’s chest. Still content with sucking on Luka’s hand Nacht moves off him. He tries to sit like a cat only to whimper and take pressure off one leg. Luka’s eyes widened “and you’re hurt”.

“Nothing I haven’t handled before” Nacht says more like Luka’s expected him to sound like. He was cold and a tad cocky. Nacht crawled towards him eyes fixated on the ring on Luka’s lip “I’ll live to kill another day.” Luka pushes himself back until he’s bumped against the wall.

“Don’t kill me please” Luka is only half amazed with how calm his voice came out. Nacht stuck a claw on the wall by his head and slowly dragged it down. 

“Not into the dead that way” Nacht purrs moving to bite the lip ring. Luka gulps and puts his hands up to defend himself. His left hand touches something insanely soft and Nacht stopped in his tracks. Luka quickly repeated the action and Nacht leaned against his hand. Luka continued to stroke Nacht’s head as he stood up and got behind him. 

“If only the police knew you were so…cuddly” Luka muttered using his other hand to pet Nacht’s neck as he exposed it. He frowned as he gently pushed the most feared man in Paris over onto his side. In his drugged state he had no idea how much his leg was bleeding. 

“The police never gave me a chance” Nacht purred turning to him. Luka on instinct stops him by grabbing his shoulders. “You smell so good” Nacht adds trying to wiggle closer. Luka can’t help but think back to when Nacht likely got injured. It had to have been from the police firing at him after he…defeated the akuma. But if he hadn’t spent those precious seconds defending the crowd from the metal rain he’d surly have gotten away before the next squad showed up. 

“Why did you save my life?” Luka asks only for Nacht to start licking Luka’s wrists. He sighed coming to the conclusion that Nacht was in no condition to answer questions. He eyed the wound and stood up “stay here I’m going to grab a bandage.” Nacht’s expression darkened and thinking fast Luka grabs his hoodie and chucks it at him. 

Nacht collapses in pure bliss of the hoodie surrounding his senses again. He purrs and licks some frosting off it. Luka heads to the bathroom and comes out with a bottle of cleaning alcohol, a bandage and a wad of toilet paper. 

Nacht lets out a muffled yowl as Luka splashes some alcohol on his leg. But he remains still so Luka could wrap the bandage around his leg and clean up the blood on the ground. Nacht tests his leg out and tenderly he’s able to put weight on it. At that moment his baton catches some police radio, stating they still had yet to find the suspect.

“They’re talking about you” Luka blurts sitting down on the ground. “You should probably get going, before they search this place”. 

“Kicking me out, but we barely even started” Nacht teases with a drunken giggle. Regardless he puts on the hoodie and hides his face under the hood. 

Luka never thought he’d find the cat man in his hoodie to be so adorable but here he was. Nacht climbs up to the window and peeks out the curtains. “Am I going to get that back?” Luka asks curiously.

Nacht pulls open the curtains to show it had started to pour outside “we’ll see”. Suddenly there’s a flash of lighting and he vanishes into the night. 

Luka lets out a shaky breath and begins to clean up the mess Nacht had accidentally made. Luckily none of the plants had been seriously damaged and their pots were in one piece. Juleka must not have heard the racket since she normally wore ear buds around this time. Once he’s done he proceeds with his original task, to have a shower.

He strips down and tosses the dirty clothing in a laundry hamper. He steps in the shower absentmindedly scratching at his neck where Nacht’s saliva had dried. Really Luka should be counting his blessings that he’s alive. His hand trailed down the saliva path, he had gotten real low by the time Luka thought to stop him. He was just stunned that Nacht’s tongue was as prickly as a cats, licking as furiously as one starved of milk.

He’s jolted out of his thoughts and glares down at his member. Seriously, two years of nothing and that’s what gets its attention? Luka huffs and turns the shower on not bothering to get out of the way of the cold water. 

Cat nip only lasted for an hour for Nacht, and reality was starting to hit him. Nacht used the shadows of the storm to his advantage. He expertly evades police eyes and camera screens. He makes it to an ally a few jumps away from the bakery when his legs give out. He tears off the hoodie and his costume fell with it. Plagg goes straight for shelter inside a dumpster and watches silently. Nathaniel shoved the hoodie into a corner of the ally and fell on his back. He looked up at the freezing rain that hit and soaked his thin t-shirt. His body shivered and he forced it to stop. He just had to get a little colder, cold enough to be numb.

He lay there for a few minutes then picked himself up. Plagg huffed and flew beside him with a raincoat made out of a newspaper. “I hate the rain” he mutters plunking himself on Nathaniel’s shoulder.

“You hate a lot of things” Nathaniel’s voice is flat as he opens his thin jacket for Plagg to fly in. The kwami does so while grumbling about the cold. Nath made a mental note to find him a hot water bottle to snuggle with tonight, give him some sort of treat for the hell Nath had put him though. 

He opened the door to the bakery and immediately was greeted by the comforting smell of baked bread. The warmth went to work on thawing him from the rain, his body shivered slightly but he forced it to stop. The longer he was cold the longer he didn’t have to think about it.

Sabine came out from the back and her face lit up. “Nathaniel thank goodness you’re alright” she sped up to him and has to grab the corner of the table to restrain herself. “I assume you heard about what happened to Officer Raincomplix, are you okay?”

The mention of the name made Nathaniel flinch. He swallowed a lump in his throat “yeah, he turned back into Roger cop and Nacht took care of him”. 

Sabine’s eyes held pity, Nath couldn’t hold her gaze. “I know how much Roger meant to you” she placed a hand on his shoulder and he winced slightly. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? I think it’s going to be a quiet day now anyway.”

There was nothing like murder to clear away the costumers. A cruel part of Nathaniel’s mind considers doing this during the tourist season when the bakery was overwhelmed with people wanting to see the home of Ladybug. He runs his tongue over his teeth to remind himself he had no fangs. He wasn’t the killer, not right now. He had to keep his mind occupied with something else. 

“Are you sure you don’t need me? I don’t know if I’ll have enough for rent at this rate.” Years of practicing a fake smile and eagerness to assist customers helped him pull off the façade of the helpful baker boy.

Sabine smiled sadly and reluctantly took her hand off him. “Don’t worry about rent this month, just get yourself warmed up and get some rest. You look exhausted” she steps back to let him walk to the staircase.

“You spoil me Sabine, what if I was taking advantage of your kindness?” Nathaniel joked with a lukewarm smile.

Her eyes twinkled “you’re a good kid Nathaniel; I know you wouldn’t do that.” 

Nathaniel stopped for a second at her words. She doesn’t see his frown before he continued his way to his room. 

Sabine turned at the sound of the door opening. Tom stepped out of the rain wearing a large yellow raincoat. He relaxed seeing Sabine’s tearful but relived expression. Nathaniel was okay.

How long had it been since they had gotten that phone call from Roger? Sabine remembered it like it was yesterday. She had just finished a big order and just picking up her cell phone had been a strain to her overworked hands. 

“Hey Sabine, I apologise for the time but I’d like to ask if you’re still offering that assistant job” Roger spoke formally but had a tinge of warmness. After all he visited the Dupain-Cheng bakery enough he was considered a good friend. 

“Thinking of a career change? You know you can’t eat everything we make right?” Sabine teased sitting down on the couch.

“It’s not for me” his serious tone made Sabine’s cheeky smile slide off. “I got a kid here, Nathaniel Kurtzberg.”

“I remember him; he was in Marinette’s class. Not much of a kid anymore is he?” Sabine tried to make the mood lighthearted again. It was more for her sake then for his. 

“No” Roger chuckled dryly. He looked through the window of his office at the young man sitting on a chair in the hallway. He had a black eye and his lip had been cut. He had a bag of frozen peas in one hand but refused to use it to ease the swelling. “He’s at the station, got caught for picking fights at a bar. He wasn’t even intoxicated.” Roger paused thinking over his words “he’s a good kid but he’s in a dark place right now. I thought…” Roger let out a sigh and sat his cap on his desk. “He lost his only family in the akuma attack at Paris hospital last week; he’s got nowhere to go.”

Sabine bit her lip softly; her hand lifted a photo of Marinette off the table. He was a kid without a mother and she was a mother without her kid. She put the heart shaped frame down and stood up. “Bring him here, I’ll see what I can do.”

It had taken some time for Nathaniel to open up to them. He walked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Even now he kept an emotional distance from them. Sabine wouldn’t give up on him, there were times he would let his guard down and became this wonderful person. It was a shame most of the time he couldn’t see that. 

A phone buzzed bringing her out of her thoughts. She picked up the black device with the paintbrush sticker to see it was a text from Alix. 

{Hey Tomato head, doubt you’ll reply but I just so happen to have Luka’s number that I’ll just leave here ;)}

There was another text with just a phone number. Sabine traced a smile on her lips with her free hand, Alix and the rest of the girls never really grew out of matchmaking. And after seeing the look on Nathaniel’s face upon seeing Luka she saw the connection. Like the ghost of meddling Marinette was guiding her hand she placed the number in Nathaniel’s contacts. Then she left the phone next to the staircase for Nathaniel to find after he warmed up. 

Nathaniel took off his soaked shirt and threw it on the floor. As much as he would have preferred to remain cold he couldn’t afford to get sick. He dug in his drawer and pulled out a shirt from the bottom. He winced at the colour, red. 

He always hated the colour red, the colour of his hair the kids at school used to tease him for. But it was Marc’s favorite colour, there wasn’t a day Nathaniel remembered where Marc wasn’t wearing his favorite red hoodie. And so he tolerated the colour, he let his own hair grow long so Marc could braid it whenever he liked. 

But then red became a colour he saw too much. It would get stuck under his claws and after Marc’s passing it got in his mouth as well. He hated coming home to that weight in his mouth. 

He ran his tongue over his teeth again. Today he came home with a different taste. Something that was sweet and salty and didn’t make his stomach wants to hurl. His memory was still pretty fuzzy about the events but he remembered one thing. Blue, so blue was what he was going to call the taste. 

He grabbed a dark blue shirt from his drawer and tossed it on. A vein attempt to surround him in that taste before it washed away, before the red was back. 

 

Alya adjusted her blouse for the twelfth time since entering the airport. The air was stuffy and none of her nice shirts were comfortable around the chest. Still she had a job to do here and she was going to tough though it. 

The next flight of people comes into the suitcase area and she spots her target. A woman wearing a beautiful orange coat with a few buttons at the bottom undone so it could show off her tanned legs peeking out of a black mini skirt. She hid her face under a wide brimmed hat and large white sunglasses. Alya waits for her to grab her bag before approaching “Lila Rossi, glad you could make it.”

Lila peeks her eyes out from her glasses “I hope you know the risk I’m taking coming back here.” She snaps her gum loudly “can you carry my bag? I’m afraid it’s been such a long horrible flight.” She tossed Alya her bags without waiting for an answer and starts walking. Alya grunts and the scent of Lila’s perfume nearly makes her throw up. How much had she put on, the entire bottle? Still she doesn’t object and half listens to Lila complain the entire way to the car.

Lila opens the door to a classy restaurant in Bourgeois hotel and lets the door swing in Alya’s face. Alya catches it and bites her tongue. She just had to deal with Lila’s rudeness for a little longer. “And I hope this place has some good wine for dinner tonight, the stuff on the plane was dreadful.” 

It was a two hour flight at most, god she was insufferable. The two took a seat at the dinner table and Alya’s feet greatly thanked her. Alya took a deep breath and put on a smile. “I’m sure dinner will be up to your standards; let’s just get to the reason why I called you here.”

Lila smirked and took off her sunglasses and hat. She pulls her hair back to show off a large scar. It was four streaks that ripped down diagonally. “Right, you wanted to know how I got this scar, well I have to say. It’s quite the story.”

It had been five years since the fall of Ladybug. Akuma’s been on the high but were slowly being taken care of by Nacht Katze and the police force armed with Max’s newest creation the akuma bullet. They were bullets that could destroy an akuma butterfly without risk of the person becoming infected. 

Lila had everything in life falling into place for her. She was engaged to Prince Ali who had fallen in love with her after spending so much time together with children’s charities. She was at the hospital visiting an elderly patient that adored her visits when it happened. Lila saw the akuma butterfly flutter down the halls to the children’s ward. It had to be after the Simon the kid with the head tumour. Lila didn’t have time to think just act. She raced after it and forced the butterfly to enter her wrist watch. 

When she woke up she was pinned underneath Nacht Katze. It was the last time he had his hair tied back in a ponytail that reached down his back like a cat’s tail. He had a crazy look in his eyes and he tightened his grip on her wrists. 

“He told me he loved me and that I had broken his heart by choosing Ali. He would destroy the entire hospital unless I became his lover.” Lila continues wiping away an actress’s tear. “I hesitated and he used cataclysm to destroy half the hospital” she looked over at Alya to study her face. Alya had stopped taking notes and was now tapping her pen against her hand. 

“According to police reports the cataclysm was used on the butterfly” Alya states pulling said paper out from her bag and sliding it across the table. “Lila I went through the trouble to get you that plane ticket, I would appreciate you tell the truth.” 

“Right, right I’m sorry. It’s such a traumatic experience I might have some details messed up” Lila put a hand to her head dramatically. Alya fought the urge to roll her eyes. If Lila hadn’t been the first non akumantized person Nacht had attacked she wouldn’t have bothered contacting the snake. Lila cleared her throat “so anyway he had me pinned down and was declaring his love for me. But I turned him down and in his rage he slashed me across the face.”

“And then he told you to leave Paris correct?” Alya drones checking over the police report. She rested her head on her hands while Lila confirmed.

“Yes, and Ali found my scar to be so hideous he broke off our engagement and married some other princess. But I don’t let this scar define me and I won’t let Nacht scare me out of this beautiful city anymore!” 

Alya could care less about the supposed engagement “can I get you to tell me more about what he said before he attacked you? I know it’s traumatic but you were the only person present at that time.”

Lila took her gum out and wrapped it in a napkin. Her eyes cast to the floor as she thought back to that day.

“You monster, I know you got akumantized on purpose. You killed them, you killed her! Ladybug is dead what more do you possibly want!” Nacht slammed his hands against her wrists and his claws tore at the fabric of her sleeves. She grunted and tried to fight him off but he was too strong. She could see a whole wing of the hospital had been destroyed in a fire. The fire alarms still rang and the dying smoke coming out of a broken wall. His eyes shivered with tears “ANSWER ME!”

Police sirens came from afar and Nacht got off her. She jumped to her feet and glared at him. “This isn’t my fault it’s yours. It’s your job to stop akuma’s before they hurt people. I’m just an innocent victim here.” That was clearly the wrong answer as Nacht swiped her face with his claw. She fell to the ground bleeding and he escaped right as reporters and police showed up. 

Lila made a face before giving her answer “after he told me he loved me he mentioned my akuma form killed someone he obviously cared about. It was a she to be specific”. 

Alya wrote down a note to check out the female victims that died that day. Maybe one of them had a connection to Nacht. She nodded and put the papers away “thank you Lila, I think this will help me find Nacht Katze true identity.”

“Yeah good luck with that” Lila rudely chirped “wasn’t Ladybug disguised as your best friend for years and you never found out? I mean I figured it out the second I saw her” Lila leaned back on her chair and signaled for the waiter for more wine. “Marinette was a total bitch to me in school as you know, it’s no surprise she was also the selfish idiot Lady-“

BANG

Alya slammed her hands against the table, the sound loud enough to make several tables around them go quiet. Alya huffed and picked up her bag “thanks for the info Lila, have a nice dinner.” She stomps past Lila for the exit.

“Wait” Lila calls for her “you said you were paying for dinner”.

“I lied” Alya calls back to her coolly “annoying isn’t it”. She left without looking back, ignoring Lila’s vows for revenge. 

Alya entered her apartment and entered the bathroom. Only once the doors were locked did she allow herself to cry. She dropped her bag and the contents spilled everywhere. With shaking hands she slides down and starts collecting the papers, pens and her phone from the floor. She reaches behind the toilet after a pen and picks up something else. She sobbed staring at the object and hid it back behind the toilet. She wrapped her arms around herself “I’m going to stop him Marinette, I promise”.

Alix stared up at the darkened schoolhouse. The rain hasn’t let up so she wears a cute red raincoat. She also has a large backpack on her lap that was the same one she used when she went to school. She perks at the sound of footsteps and smiles at Nathaniel now at least wearing a black rain jacket. “Hey Nath, lovely weather we’re having” she says dryly.

“Perfect for a school reunion, are we waiting for the others?” Nathaniel puts his hands in his pockets. 

“No” Alix answers quickly “the others called and said they were too scared to leave their homes, can’t say I blame them.” She doesn’t linger on the subject instead bumping his hand teasingly “just the terrible twosomes tonight. Let’s go cause some trouble”.

“After you my lady” Nathaniel jokes with a bow.

“Why thank you Chat Noir” Alix jokes back wheeling herself ahead. She misses his flinch and nervous twitch of his hands. She wheels herself up to the front steps and frowns “ah yes my old nemesis, stairs.” 

“Maybe there’s another way in” Nathaniel knows better than to push Alix without her permission. So he keeps a slow pace as they move around the school. He finds a back door without any stairs and with the help of Plagg he unlocks it. 

“Lots of fun memories from here” Alix says wheeling into the middle of the court yard. Nathaniel didn’t respond looking to the ground. “Hey remember when I arm wrestled Kim and kicked his sorry butt?”

“Yeah, you made him do your homework for a week” Nathaniel made himself sound cheery. 

A spark lit up in Alix's eyes and she zips over to a blank wall. “Nath give me a hand” she opens a bag on her lap and pulls out a can of spray paint.

“You can’t be serious” Nath grabs the can she threw at him. 

“Oh I’m dead serious” Alix says spinning a black spray paint can. Nathaniel frowns for a second at the colour he was holding, red. “We’re going to make something Kim would be proud to see.”

Nathaniel dug into the bag and pulled out a silver one “then I know just the thing.”

An hour later the two stare at their work proudly. It was of Kim wearing a suit of armour with a sword pointed to the sky. He rode a giant black panther with huge teeth. 

“I think we did him justice” Alix holds her fist out for him to bump “nice work partner.” Nathaniel hesitates but bumps her fist with his non ringed hand. 

A flashlight suddenly shines from above “WHO’S THERE?” the principal calls from the second floor. Nathaniel and Alix laugh and Nath pushes Alix out of there. 

They come to a stop once they were off school property “now that is what I’ve been missing” Alix says in between gasps of laughter. They continue walking and joking about what just happened until they reach the bakery. “You know I never took you for being so collected while doing something illegal, something you want to tell me?” her face is way too cheeky for what first passed Nathaniel’s mind. 

Quick, spin the wheel of excuses and lies. “I uh may have stolen a few things in my youth, nothing big.” His mind going to that hoodie he left in the ally, should he try to return it? All he remembered was the colour blue and that wasn’t much to go off. 

“Ah yes and I know of your most recent theft” Alix purrs with a Cheshire grin “stealing little ole Luka’s heart.”

Nothing made Alix’s day much like making her best friend turn as red as his hair. “What?”

“Oh come on don’t act like you didn’t see it” Alix continued to tease ignoring her phone buzzing. “I might be the ace one but I know thirst when I see it.”

“Alix” Nath cries turning away from her “I don’t even know him.”

“Well do you want to?” Alix asks wheeling herself around to face him. 

Nathaniel doesn’t reply for a good moment, when it was clear Alix wasn’t going away he sighs. “I doubt he even remembered my name”.

“Why don’t we make a bet?” Alix says with an evil smile. “If he comes to the bakery tomorrow and says your name you have to paint my wheelchair AND accompany me to the music festival next month”.

“And what if I win?” Nathaniel raises a brow knowing full well there’s no way he can back out of a bet with Alix. 

“Then I’ll give you free passes to my rink for a year” Alix holds out her hand for him to shake.

“And you’ll stop meddling with my love life” Nathaniel adds hopefully.

“And I’ll stop meddling with your love life” Alix chirps and they shake hands. “For a year” she adds with a wink.

“Alix” Nath whines crossing his arms “what made you so evil?” 

“It’s the chair” Alix jokes patting her wheels “it brings out my inner doctor evil.” She throws her head back to do her best evil laugh impression. Her phone buzzes urgently and she pulls it out “shoot, Jalil is on my case again.” She types out a reply to and puts it back in her coat. “He’ll be here any minute” she pauses and a small smile settle on her face.  
“Thanks for showing up tonight Nath, I really missed you.”

Nathaniel’s smile falls “yeah…I missed you too.” 

They were in comfortable silence for about four minutes when Jalil pulled up in his wheelchair assessable van. As he’s opening the doors Alix gives Nathaniel one last comment “get ready to lose tomato head.” Nathaniel can hear her evil laugh as the van speeds off into the night.

Nathaniel walks inside the bakery and tells Sabine and Tom he ate while he was out. Really he just wanted to get to bed. When he’s in the bathroom he takes a moment to check over his wounds. The one on his side had scabbed over and should heal in less than a week if he didn’t rip it. The one on his leg had a surprise bandage on it. 

“Looks like the boy of your dreams is a nurse or a doctor o la, la” Plagg teases with a little dance. 

“I was on cat nip” Nathaniel hissed turning away to hide his face. Too bad his hair parted to show off his neck blushing. He ignores the Kwami and begins brushing his teeth. 

“Please I heard everything you said” Plagg bats his eyes “oh you’re so pretty, and taste so good.”

Nathaniel chokes on his toothbrush and spits out the white foam “are you telling me I blew some stranger?” 

Plagg shrugs “I don’t know but you seemed pretty happy about it.” 

“I can never return that hoodie” Nathaniel mutters putting his face in his hands.

Plagg’s ears are devil horns “no wonder you’re not hungry, you filled up on Doctor Blue’s-“

“And there goes your camembert privileges” Nath hisses leaving the room and running his hands through his hair to try and shake the dirty thoughts out of his head. 

 

Gabriel Agreste had changed his usual standing place. Instead of at his wife’s painting on the wall he was staring out the large window. “Do you feel it Nooroo? The fear, pain and hopelessness, it’s everywhere.”

Nooroo floated by Gabriel and gave a nervous nod “yes it’s awful.”

“All these negative emotions, I should be able to create akuma’s with ease” Gabriel makes a fist. “But instead my butterflies become confused from so many possible targets” he slams his fist against his desk making poor Nooroo flinch. “I have the ladybug miraculous I’m so close to my final goal I can taste it” he turns away from the window to his usual spot in front of the painting. The moonlight illuminating it in a gentle light “that fiend Nacht Katze has made my goal near impossible.”

“The people of Paris fear him more than they fear you” Nooroo whimpers looking over at the lights from houses nearby. “A hero who kills the people he’s supposed to save is more terrifying than any supervillain.”

“I almost feel like he uses the fear to cloak his own emotions” Gabriel ponders rubbing his chin. “After both akuma’s were extinguished I sensed an intense feeling of guilt that overpowered the fear for just a second.”

“He’s been fighting you alone for years” Nooroo joined him by the painting. “He’s bound to be experiencing mental decay by now.”

“What do you mean by that?” Gabriel whipped his head to his Kwami so quickly it cracked. 

Nooroo gulped and cursed himself, why did he have such a big mouth? “I uh…I think Tikki would explain it better.”

Gabriel was silent long enough for Nooroo to turn an entire shade paler. Finally he spoke “very well, goodbye for now Nooroo.” He plucks off his miraculous and Nooroo vanishes from sight. He walks over to his desk and opens a secret compartment under the bottom drawer. He held up a dark purple box “awaken Tikki, your master requires information” he flips it open and the room is surrounded in a red light.


	3. Sweets and Retirement homes

Chapter 3  
It’s dark; he can’t even see his hand in front of his face. He’s running but he isn’t bumping into anything. He can’t take a breath, the air is too heavy.

“CHAT”

He has to find her. He tries to call for her but his voice is trapped under the air. 

“CHAT, PLEASE” 

He can see her up ahead, the unmistakable red. He has to get to her. He speeds up yet she remains just a speck away from him. He strains his vocal cords but no sound comes out. She’s right there, she’s right there.

“Chat?” her voice is raspy this time. He’s almost there, he’s almost there. He can’t breathe.

Adrien wakes but his lung still refuses to work. He throws his covers off and sits up. It took several broken squeaky toys breaths until his lungs had expanded enough for a proper breath. He drags a hand though his hair and stands up. He goes to his wardrobe to find something nice, going through the tasks of the day in his head.

It had taken awhile to get the hang of thinking for himself. Making his own appointments, ordering his own food, and even just remembering birthdays had taken much longer than the average dude. His phone buzzes with several notifications. Despite everything he chuckles to himself, without the phone he would probably be doomed. 

 

Nathaniel woke up that morning with an intense headache. He had to take the last three Advil’s he had on hand just so he could get out of bed. He dragged himself to the bathroom and with great difficultly he got ready for the day. When he put his hair up in a bun the elastic snapped against his head and he hissed. 

“Sounds like you need some camembert” Plagg flew over to his wielder crouched against the toilet. He had a small slice of camembert in his paws.

“Since when do you share?” Nathaniel groans shutting his eyes trying to will away the pain. It felt like his heartbeat had moved to his head. Plagg doesn’t answer and shoves the slice into Nathaniel’s hand. Nath stares at it and uses his nail to slice it in two. Plagg is watching intently as he carves it into a mutilated star. He plucks out the star and places the extra bits on the counter. “Thank you Plagg” he mumbles crawling to his feet “you can eat the extra pieces if you want.”

“Oh I will” Plagg eagerly pops the crumbs into his face still watching Nath like a hawk. Nathaniel fixed his hair without incident and left to start work downstairs. Plagg let out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding. 

Nath was working in the back today to his relief. The headache had dulled but he didn’t feel he had the energy to smile all day. He was just putting on his apron when Tom waved him over. “We got a big order today, a thousand cupcakes that need to be made and decorated by this afternoon.” 

Nathaniel didn’t ask who had placed such an order. Or why they had a spring like theme when Halloween was like two weeks away. He just enjoyed the act of baking and decorating. One half of the cupcakes were to look like bees with little crowns while the others were ladybugs. He finished piping the vanilla lemon frosting on the cakes and backed up to admire his work. He bumped into someone too small to be Tom but too tall to be Sabine. 

Naturally he yelps and squeezes the bag hard enough it sent a spray of frosting onto the cupcakes. “Oh fuck me” Nathaniel snaps turning to face the idiot that made him mess up. 

“At least let me take you out to dinner first” Luka jokes with that god damn smirk. It brightens into a smile and he chuckles “sorry I couldn’t help it.”

“What are you doing here?” Nathaniel huffs and grabs a spatula to try and fix the cupcakes.

Luka holds out a bag of coffee “you left this yesterday at the shop so I thought I’d bring it over.”

Nathaniel eyes it then his hands. His hand without the ring was covered in frosting. He reaches for the bag with his ringed hand and manages to take the bag with only a slight tremble. He hoped Luka didn’t notice or care to say anything. “You didn’t have to do that” he manages to say placing the bag on the table. 

Luka shrugs and Nathaniel can’t help but glance at the chest that briefly made an impression on the fabric of his black shirt. “I had to come this way anyway to pick up an order. Sabine sent me back here” he leans on the table casually “you wouldn’t happen to know where the sunny side retirement order is would you?” 

“Well I um, it should well um” Nathaniel grabs the edge of the table unable to hold eye contact. Why did his eyes have to look like that? Spotlights that lit up everything in Nathaniel and made his heart beat too fast. 

Tom saves the day coming in with a four boxes of cookies. “Right here Luka, I got peanut butter, chocolate chip, sugar and oatmeal as ordered.” Luka takes his eyes off Nathaniel to grab two of the boxes. He frowns trying to calculate how he was going to balance four boxes with his guitar strapped to his back already putting him off balance. Tom senses this and grabs the back of Nathaniel trying to get back to his frosting. “Would you mind assisting Luka with this delivery?”

“Don’t you need me to finish these?” Nathaniel gestures to the cupcakes “you said the clients could get real huffy if things aren’t ready in time.”

“The clients called and said their plane was delayed so they won’t be here till this evening. I got time to finish them myself” Tom hands Nathaniel the other two boxes. “When you come back you can work out front with Sabine” he smiles and a beep from the oven is heard. He whistles a happy tune as he goes to pull whatever goodie was done baking.

Nathaniel sighs knowing there was no use arguing “alright, let’s get this over with.”

The two exit the bakery and Nathaniel follows Luka down a string of streets and secret paths. “Must be nice working at a bakery” Luka says making Nathaniel jump.

“Uh yeah, expect for how early some shifts start” Nathaniel says almost hiding himself behind the boxes. “Sometimes I have to get up at four to start the bread.”

“Sheesh I can’t even get out of bed before eight” Luka joked with another smile. 

The sunny side retirement home was a golden building with a huge front door. Like it was big enough Nathaniel wonders if retired elephants go here as well. Luka fishes out a card from his pocket and scans it so the door would unlock. 

“You work here?” Nathaniel blurts before he could help it. Last time he checked (which was on TV) people who worked in nursing homes did not have a soft Goth look to them. Although now that he looked Luka had removed the lip piercing and his nails were clear.

“I do music therapy here on Thursday’s, but today it’s a special occasion” Luka holds the door for Nathaniel again. Nathaniel almost forgets to thank him trying to remember what day of the week it was. 

Nathaniel didn’t like it here, not because it was filled with the elderly. But because there was the air of being trapped, all the doors were locked, security cameras were everywhere, and there were strict schedules the elderly had to follow. They passed by a window in the ridiculously long hallway, it looked breakable. 

Nathaniel’s ring burned on his finger, his nails dug into the box making the lid pop up slightly. Whatever was going through his head ends when he spots a little black kwami hanging out on top of the cookies. He slows down to be behind Luka by a few steps and hisses into the box “Plagg what are you doing in there?” 

“I got bored being cooped up in that room all day” Plagg mumbles loud enough for only Nathaniel to hear. 

Nathaniel rolled his eyes “get out of there before someone sees you.”

“And go where?” Plagg asks honestly not sure where he was supposed to go. Nathaniel had no jacket for him to hide in and the entire interior of the building was blinding white.  
Nathaniel looks around and spots an old gramophone sitting on a display table. “Hide in there” he orders using his eyes to point. Plagg hesitates for a second with his eyes wide. Then bolts towards it and vanishes into the sound piece without a word. Nathaniel doesn’t get the chance to wonder what that was about as Luka had stopped walking. 

“Here we are” in front of them was a large sitting room filled with elderly and nurses. There are coloured balloons in the corners and a large banner reading happy birthday above them. They place the cookies on a plain table and Luka pulls his guitar out of its case. “Feel free to stick around and watch I don’t mind a bigger audience” Luka winks then strides over to an elder woman in a wheelchair. 

Just because he winked didn’t mean he meant it that way. Nathaniel convinced himself weakly turning away to stare at the gramophone with Plagg in it. 

Luka took and kissed the hand of the elderly lady “a happy birthday to you Lotus, you are turning thirty today right?”

Age had reduced the lady to a small shriveled figure with puffy hair and thin glasses. Her smile is all gums but lights up her face all the same. Luka begins the first song while the nurses hand out the cookies with gloved hands. Some patients had to have their cookies in a jello form while others just need them broken up. Nathaniel leans against the wall watching Luka play. He made the birthday song sound like a beautiful song about living a cheerful life. The patients all seem to light up hearing his voice and watching him do a little twirl during the end note.

Luka goes through a few more songs, some Nath knew and others he had no clue. Each one he did was incredible and lively. He did an Elvis song, complete with the hip shakes. He did a few nursery rhymes that he encouraged the crowd to join in on. Nathaniel softly smiles as he takes the hand of the birthday girl during a love song and did a makeshift dance with her. His final song is a slower one that Nathaniel recognised instantly. It was somewhere over the rainbow.

“What do you think?” Marc asks Nathaniel gesturing to his outfit. He had a rainbow shirt with a matching cape that trailed down his back. His shoes and pants were black other than a heart shaped rainbow on his hip.

“You look like a gay wizard” Nathaniel jokes sitting up from Marc’s bed. He stepped close enough to Marc that their noses would be touching had Nathaniel not been slightly taller. 

Marc crinkles his nose trying not to laugh. He grabs a cape off the bed and wraps Nathaniel in it. The purple, blue and dark pink standing out against his bright red hair “then does that make you the bi warrior?”

“I prefer superhero” Nathaniel purrs wrapping his arms around Marc. Nath’s silver ring stands out against the fabric. 

“The gay wizard and the bi superhero” Marc leans into Nathaniel and gives his lips a quick peck “we’re ready for anything pride could throw at us.”

Nathaniel is gently shaken out of his memory by Luka touching his shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asks gently.

Nathaniel swallows a bubble in his throat and touches his face. It came back wet but thankfully clear, not red. He didn’t even notice when he had begun to cry. “Yeah…yeah I’m okay” he says wiping his eyes and pretending nothing was wrong. 

Luka shrugs his guitar over his shoulder and waves goodbye to the elders “see you all next time” he chirps. He wraps his arm around Nathaniel and leads him out of their field of view. Nathaniel doesn’t object but does slide away once they were back in the hallway. 

Nath pats his pocket and finds Plagg wasn’t there. “I uh, forgot something back there” he quickly excuses himself from Luka and finds the gramophone nearby. He knocks on it “Plagg we have to go.” Plagg doesn’t immediately come out so he hits the gramophone harder.

“Careful” a nurse steps over before he really hit it “that’s an old antique.”

“Sorry I was just” Nathaniel darts his eyes over the thing “trying to make it play?” 

The nurse shakes her head “it doesn’t play music anymore I’m afraid. Its old owner Marianne Lenoir used to be able to make it play but after she passed no one else could figure it out.” The nurse paused as if thinking back to the lady. “But it’s still very beautiful wouldn’t you say, I love the dragons.” 

Nathaniel spies the dragons carved into the sides of the box. “Yeah they’re really cool” he admits and feels Plagg crawl into his shirt. He quickly leaves before the nurse asked any questions or wanted to continue talking. 

Luka is waiting for him outside the facility “so uh…thanks for sticking around Nathaniel” he starts with a warm blush dusting his cheeks. 

“Yeah it’s no problem; I mean you’re a great player. Guitar player” Nath feels the need to clarify and Luka chuckles. 

“I was a little bit of both in high school not going to lie” Luka jokes as the two begin the walk back. 

“Ladies do love a guitar man” Nathaniel bites his lip looking straight ahead. 

“Well yes but I had a few gentlemen as well, can’t have something like this restricted to one gender after all.” Luka stuck out his chest in a joking manner. Nathaniel doesn’t respond so Luka tries again “I’m like the N sync song you know?” Nathaniel just stares at him blankly. “Bi, bi, bi” Luka sings doing some finger guns.

Nathaniel stares at him “what are you…” his eyes widen “oh you’re.” He giggles awkwardly and Luka chimes in “how many times have you used that one?”

“Oh just twice” Luka holds up a peace sign and Nath smirks at him. Luka puts his hands in his pockets “so tell me about you Nathaniel, what do you do other than bake and frost cakes?”

“Not much else” Nathaniel admits eyes getting distracted by a fly landing on his shoulder. He tries to slap it only for it to escape his hand. It teases him by flying around his head. Nath slashes at it and corners it on a wall. He smashes it and pulls his hands back slowly.  
The bug’s body lay motionless in his hand. Its legs curled into itself from the blood leaving its body. It was gone, dead, destroyed. 

“You’re pretty good at catching flies, any chance I can get you to take care of the ones at my place?” Luka snaps Nathaniel out of his staring. 

Nath drops the bug and resists stepping on it. He puts on a smirk that doesn’t reach his eyes “our first outing and you’re inviting me over to your place? My you really are a player.” 

“I didn’t mean it like that” Luka squeaks shaking his head fast enough it messes his hair up. He drags a hand though it to fix it “and doesn’t this count as the second outing, or does getting coffee not count?” 

“Not when Nacht shows up” Nathaniel’s eyes had gone cold. He pauses staring at the park he had battled in last. The body had long since been removed and the park goers were acting as if everything was normal. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring that up” Luka’s eyes read pity. Nathaniel was more than eager to look away. 

“Don’t be, unless you’re Nacht” Nathaniel’s mask is back. His smile is flirty and his eyes are staring but not seeing. 

Luka chuckles awkwardly “no way, I can’t stand the sight of blood.” 

“Neither can I” Nathaniel mutters under his breath. Before Luka can ask the bakery is in sight “it was nice chatting but I should get back to work.” 

“Guess you should, but just so this meeting isn’t on a sour note” Luka hands Nathaniel a chocolate chip cookie. 

Nathaniel raises an eyebrow “a cookie from the bakery I work at, how sweet.” He takes the cookies and takes a bite out of it. The cookie was of Tom’s doing, the perfect amount of sweet that wasn’t overpowering. 

“So any chance I’ll see you again?” Luka asks admiring the way Nath bit a heart out of his cookie before finishing it. 

“Trying to sweeten me up are you?” Nathaniel put a hand on his hip remembering a second too late about the bandage still there. He covered a wince with a cough and felt his ring burn. It didn’t matter how good looking Luka was or what a nice guy he seemed to be. Nathaniel was not, he couldn’t get close. “You’ll see me at the bakery I guess” he says with a retailers smile. He turns away and enters the bakery without looking back at Luka.

Luka adjusts the guitar on his back with a frown. He thought they were doing well there, what happened? He starts the walk back to the penthouse going over the conversation in his head. His fingers twitched to play the emotions swirling around him.

Adrien takes a deep breath and enters his father’s office. Even though he matched his father in height he felt small under the man’s gaze. Was he still mad that Adrien had chosen a path different then the one his father had made for him? Instead of flaunting his looks on the runway and selling his soul to the industry Adrien chose Nacht instead.  
“Finally wearing something proper” Gabriel boomed in the quiet room. He turned away from the painting of Emilie to face his son. 

Adrien unconsciously took a step back and lowered his head. “For Chloe’s party, I figured I’d dress up for it.” He’s wearing a Gabriel suit that looked like every other suit in existence. 

A strange smile passes Gabriel’s face “yes I too look forward to seeing Bourgeois again, but that is not why I brought you here. I’d like to meet your date for this evening.” He points to the shadows where a woman with black hair was sitting on one of the leather chairs. She stands to show she was wearing a green kimono with her hand resting on where a sword would sit on her hip. 

“Kagami” Adrien’s voice is a mix of surprise and delight. 

Kagami smiles softly and bows her head “it has been awhile Adrien” she takes his arm and says her goodbye’s to Gabriel. Adrien lets her lead him out of the office without a fight. “Your father insisted someone be your date so Chloe isn’t all over you again” she explains dropping his arm so they walked together in a friendlier manner. “I took the opportunity since I’m back in Paris.” 

“Thank you for that” Adrien says running a hand though his hair “so have you been in any fencing competitions lately?”

“I’ve been training with the sword, but there’s no competition worth my time lately. No challenge for me.” Even with all the years knowing her there were still times Adrien wasn’t sure if she was joking or being serious. A smile tugs at her lips and he guesses it meant joking. 

Adrien chuckles and opens the front door for her. She smirks at him and they exit the cold Agreste home. “How long have you been in Paris? I haven’t really been watching but I don’t recall a fashion event happening this month.” Adrien can’t help but ask as their driver pulls up to take them to the party. 

Kagami cups her hands together “and here I thought detectives payed attention to every little detail” 

“My case is on tracking down Nacht Katze and Hawk Moth and bringing them to justice. I don’t think the fashion world has anything to do with either of them. You know, based off Hawk moth’s fashion sense” Adrien couldn’t help but throw a jab at the man he wanted nothing more than to be in prison. 

Kagami smiled in agreement “I’ve been here a few weeks but doing secret fashion business, nothing you X-models need to know about.” She winks at him and they both share a laugh. The car pulls up to the grand gold hotel which was already filling with people of wealth. 

Inside Nathaniel is dressed in a butler uniform with his hair styled in a nice ponytail. He’s bit his lip until it’s gotten puffy and blood was in his mouth. This did nothing to help his situation. He should have known what he was getting into with the bee cupcakes. He’s handed a tray filled with cupcakes and Sabine drags her fingers up her lips to remind him to smile. With a heavy sigh he tries a smile that was good enough to make Sabine relax.

Adrien and Kagami step into the building and Sabine tensed up out of habit. Tom puts a hand on her shoulder and they hold each other’s hand under the table. 

Nathaniel would be fine, so long as he avoided all blonde ponytails he would be fine. He approaches a group and gulps seeing Alya there. Her bandages were replaced with less obvious ones and she wore a tight fit pink dress with a cherry blossom on the back. Her hair was done up in a pretty bun on the top of her head. When he offered a cupcake everyone took one including her. She wolfed it down like she hadn’t eaten all day and considering how Alya worked that may very well be the case. 

“May I have one of the Queen Bee cakes?” a familiar voice asks behind him. Nathaniel gulps and turns to face her, the akuma queen Chloe. Chloe wears an expensive black dress with a yellow belt. Her face is made up with professional gunk and eye liner sharp as her tongue. The worst thing for Nathaniel is her hair, the ponytail was gone and in its place was a cut exactly like her mothers. Now that he looked she looked exactly like her mother. This was not good. 

Nathaniel moves the tray over to her and with delicate choosing she picks one from it. “Chloe Bourgeois, can I ask a few questions regarding your charity lucky charm?” Alya asks holding her phone out to record.

Chloe remains from putting the treat in her mouth and wears a models smile. “Don’t forget Lost and Found Chaton, we just made over ten times our original goal last month.”

Chloe and charities just didn’t add up. Nathaniel listens in on the interview growing more confused as it continued. The Lucky Charm charity was about getting sick or poor children the stuff they needed to get a good start on life. Like food or medicine. The Lost and Found Chaton charity focused more on kids separated from abusive parents. 

A gentleman clears his throat by Nathaniel and points to the empty tray. Nathaniel turns away from the conversation to go get more cupcakes. 

Nathaniel keeps an eye on Chloe for the rest of the night. It was like Chloe had been taken over by an alien parasite that made her polite and even charming. Alien…or akuma, Nathaniel ran his tongue over his teeth to remind himself he wasn’t Nacht. 

But perhaps Nacht should pay her a visit, later when she’s alone in her old room. 

After the party Chloe sticks around to thank the wealthy members for the donations they had made to her charities. Then she takes her leave to her old room, the staff had already unpacked her things. She paused staring at her old room, it looked exactly the way she left it all those years ago. 

The cat man was new….

Chloe held back a scream, she expected this. Nacht sat on her couch with his legs crossed, one arm propping his head up with a claw gently tapping against his mask. “How long have you been waiting?” Chloe asks calmly putting her fake fur coat on its hook.

“Not long” Nacht’s eyes fixated on her and his tail swung off the couch “how was your flight princess?” He stretched out the R like Chat would have done, the only joke he adopted from the x-super hero. 

“It was long, and I have major jet leg so if you’d mind” Chloe does a shoo motion. 

Nacht flashed his fangs and a chill ran up her spine. “You can’t order a feral cat around” he stands up and takes a step towards her. Chloe rips her high heels off and holds them like weapons. He laughs at her “and just what are you going to do with those your highness?”

“I would appreciate if you stopped calling me that and told me why you’re here” she used anger to hide her panic. But Nacht could sense it; he could get drunk off the fear of others. He rested his hands against the back of the couch and allowed his claws to stretch out. He made sure to angle himself in such a way that the city lights gleam off them. 

“I’m just curious what game you’re playing, a Bourgeois playing charity?” He spits her last name like it tasted of rotten meat. 

Her expression hardened to actual annoyance “it’s been ten years since you’ve seen me; I’ve changed a lot since then.”

“I imagine watching your best lackey being turned to dust would do that” Nacht smiled at that. It was a cruel smile that showed too much teeth. Chloe winced and he readied for her verbal assault, the perfect opportunity to pounce on her and…

“It wasn’t your fault” Chloe says as softly as Sabine would. 

One of Nacht’s hands slips off the couch from bailing on the pounce last second “what?” is all he can squeak.

“Sabrina, Jean my father…it wasn’t your fault my mother got to them before you could destroy her akumantized object.” Chloe set her shoes down on the floor and stepped towards him.

What had angered her mother again? What didn’t make her mom angry? She became the dangerous Style queen after a series of meaningless problems stacked on top of one another. The tipping point was when her card was declined at one of her favorite stores. This time her power had upgraded to change other people to golden glitter rather than just statues. 

Style queen massacred the employees in the store. Chloe was thrown over her Daddy’s shoulder as she was too stunned to move on her own. He got to the car and told Jean to drive away as fast as he could.

“Daddy what are you doing?” Chloe cries as she’s shoved into the car along with Sabrina. 

“I’m the reason the card declined, she’ll be after me next” Andre says placing a kiss on her forehead. “I love you sweetie” before she can respond he slams the car door and orders it to move. 

Chloe sees him meet his fate in that parking lot out the rear view mirror.

Sabrina is crying as they enter the Bourgeois hotel and head to the safety room. Jean ushers them both inside telling them both to remain calm. Style Queen screams a name like Chloe’s from outside, the ability to forget her own child’s name ever present. Jean hugs Chloe one last time and locks them inside the safe room.

Chloe should be crying, screaming, anything but what she was doing. She was stone faced as she watched Sabrina cry, a voice in her head stating she should comfort her.  
A thud is heard on the door “you worthless brat” Style queen shouts on the other side. “Your expensive tastes must have done it, children cost too much!” 

The banging increases and Sabrina cried harder. Chloe can only offer her hand for Sabrina, her voice didn't work. 

Style queen slips through the cracks in her glitter form and jabs her sceptre at the girls huddled on the floor. “Oh Chloe” are Sabrina’s last words wrapping her friend in a hug. Chloe could never forget the feeling of solid changing to sandy glitter. The golden sparkles covered her hands and spilled onto her lap.

“Goodbye Casserole” Style queen readies her staff to fire. 

Suddenly Nacht pounces in from behind armed with a bunch of fly paper. He wraps Style queen in the paper faster than she can react. She tries to slither away but her akumantized object becomes obvious within the stuck glitter. It was a credit card of all things. 

He picks it up and looks at her “you should go, before I break this.” His eyes are tired and his hands slightly shake. Chloe slowly gets to her feet and walks out of the room. The doors close behind her and she hears the credit card snap.

“It wasn’t your fault” Chloe is now close enough she could touch him. “My mother was at fault, she killed them and she expressed no remorse for her actions.” Nacht’s eyes were half closed as Chloe puts a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You shoulder all that responsibility but you’re just one kitty, a kitty that needs to relax.”

Chloe’s voice had taken on some kind of buzz at some point. Nacht was lightheaded as she gently touched his face. She was studying his eyes, the fuzzy feeling spreading to them. 

Her other hand slowly reaches for his ringed hand “you don’t have to fight anymore” she whispered in his ear. She grabbed it and accidentally pricked her finger on his claws.

The smell of blood reaches him and Nacht pushes Chloe away with enough force she flies across the room. “I don’t know what the hell you just did but” he abandons all human speech to roar at her. He gets on all fours and growls. He stalks towards her eyes looking ready to kill.

A bang from her door snaps him out of it “Paris Police, open up or we’ll bust it down.” Nacht turns tail and runs out of there. Chloe curses to herself and gets to her feet. 

After telling the police her statement Chloe was left alone in her room, well almost alone.

“Are you okay my queen?” Pollen zips out from her hiding spot in the bathroom. 

“I was so close Pollen” Chloe accepts some toilet paper from Pollen to dab the wound. “If I hadn’t gotten my stupid finger caught I would have had it”.

“You used the subjection voice very well” Pollen compliments flying back with a bandage. “Perhaps if we try it again as Queen Bee we’ll be able to subdue him before he’s completely lost.” 

Chloe shakes her head “we can’t let Hawk moth know I still have my miraculous. He could target us and use you to find the miracle box.” 

Pollen smiled despite the danger, her queen had grown up so much since their first meeting. “Then I will get back to concentrating on its location.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify, whenever Nathaniel's ring burns it's not literally doing that. Nathaniel just feels the weight as a burning sensation.
> 
> Also I don’t ship Adrien and Kagami but you’re free to see their interactions as more than friendship material.


	4. The Fox and Turtle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To anyone who doesn’t know I will be away from my computer from May 4 to June 4. Unless I get some real inspiration before then I won’t have the next chapter up for awhile

Chapter 4 the fox and turtle  
How dare she, how dare she! Nacht growls as he climbs down a building and rests in a giant tree in a park. Whatever Chloe did how dare she! Nacht grabbed the sides of his head and his claws dug into his skull. He had to calm down; nothing good came out of him being angry. 

A guitar playing reaches his ears and the fake ones twitch. It was a gentle tune that reminded Nacht of calmer nights. Nights he would do anything to get back.  
He crawls low to the branch creeping over to the sound. He peeked through the leaves and spies some blue hair resting on a bench. Luka had his eyes closed as he played on his guitar, a peaceful expression on his face like he was asleep. Nacht’s tail swished hanging off the branch, if there was one thing Nacht loved destroying it was peace.

An almost silent thump is heard by Luka. Luka stops playing and puts his hand on the strings to stop the sound. He leans his head back and opens his eyes. Nacht stared him down with a small pout, that wasn’t the reaction he was looking for. Still he plays it cool “don’t you know it’s not safe in the park at night?”

Luka smirks at him “I figured I was in good hands after lending you my hoodie, which by the way am I ever going to get back?”

“Your hoodie” Nacht pales and leans away from the bench. Play it cool, play it cool! “Right your hoodie, I was just going to clean it first.”

Luka chuckled and turned on the bench to face him. “I suppose it was rather sticky after well…you know what.”

Nacht froze for half a second, his mouth dry. Shit Plagg was telling the truth, he got cat nipped and blew some guy. Worse, he blew the cute guy Alix was trying to set him up with.

“Why do you have bumps on your tongue anyway?” Luka asks innocently.

Nacht was thankful his mask hid some of his face; he was living up to the tomato nickname. “It helps me clean the blood and meats off my teeth” he quickly answers turning away. 

“Oh” Luka shifts uncomfortable in his seat. “Yeah I guess that makes sense.”

Nacht jumps on the back of the bench like a cat “so did you come here in hopes of tracking me down?”

“Nah” Luka’s smirk is back “I just needed some fresh air to sort out my latest song.” He plays a random note on the guitar “want to hear it?”

A cat’s curiosity got the better of him. Nacht slid down and sat beside him “I have a minute I suppose.” Luka smirks like he could see right through the act. He closes his eyes and his fingers begin to play. Nacht stared transfixed at them as they gently stroked the cords. 

What would they feel like through his hair? Nacht sighed as a blush attacked him again. Stupid cat brain making him enjoy being pet. Nacht crept closer and leaned his face to a kiss apart from Luka’s. He held his breath so he could feel Luka’s on his lips. “What’s the song called?” he asks eyeing the way Luka’s eye twitched under his eyelid. So he didn’t like his playing being interrupted. 

“Crimson silence” Luka mutters as if coming out of a trance. Luka opened his eyes and yelped from Nacht being so close. Nacht lets him fumble away and crash on the ground.  
Luka sighs with a hand through his hair and chuckles “okay you got me.”

“Cats like to play with their food” Nacht teases pouncing over and landing next to Luka. Luka shuffled back and Nacht happily followed. Luka closed his eyes tightly and held his hands out to protect his face. Nacht fought the urge to run his head under the hands. Instead he leaned in to Luka’s ear taking his dear sweet time listening to Luka’s breath hitch. “Promise not to tell anyone of our little…incident” Nacht purrs.

Luka gulps and nods “yeah, yeah never happened.” 

“Good” Nacht pulled back and licked his lips. He turned and jumped back on the bench “and for the record that song wasn’t half bad”. He turns around and disappears into the trees. 

The next morning Nathaniel wakes up without a headache and Luka’s hoodie wrapped in his arms. He didn’t remember when he blacked out and grabbed it. He groans wishing to push it away but at the same time being unable to let go. 

He wasn’t stupid enough to pretend he wasn’t lonely, but this was a problem. “Looks like you had a proper cat nap” Plagg teased from his bed in Nathaniel’s hair. 

“What the hell is wrong with me?” Nathaniel whines forcing himself up and shoving the hoodie away. “I mean other than the fang thing” he adds quickly.

“Just a thing that happens to lonely black cats of destruction” Plagg sighed and stretched. “Did you throw yourself on him?”

“NO” Nathaniel jumps up and almost falls out of the bed. “I don’t think so…I wouldn’t…I didn’t” Nathaniel whimpers grabbing at the sides of his head. 

Plagg pets his head and waits for Nathaniel to regain control of his breathing. “I’m just teasing kid, you’re a rotten one but I know you wouldn’t do that.”

“But I” Nathaniel wiped a tear from his eye “the blue taste, it was Luka.”

“I recalled more of that conversation, you just bathed him” Plagg states with a cute little grin. “His music playing is just irresistible to you”.

Nathaniel let out a small sigh or relief. Anything was better than forcing himself on someone; even if he had consent it would have been out of fear. Consent through fear didn’t count. “Then maybe we should stay away from him, for his own safety.” 

“If you say so kid” Plagg muttered getting out of Nathaniel’s hair as he stood up. They didn’t have a shift today so they could do whatever they pleased. Nathaniel grabbed his backpack and began collecting pieces of clothing. Plagg sighed as he grabbed the hoodie and threw it in. “Don’t forget to grab some more Camembert” he called as Nathaniel shoved in some pink stained towels. 

Nathaniel opens his jacket with a smirk “why don’t you come with me and pick one out”.

Plagg’s face lit up and he zoomed into the hiding spot. Nathaniel smiled at his eagerness and proceeded down the stairs.  
Sabine and Tom did offer him their washer and dryer but he preferred to use the laundry mat a few blocks away. He often had towels with far too much blood on them from hunts or personal injuries. He took the back door to avoid running into people and started his walk there. 

Alya sat at her computer in silence, her eyes scrolling over the names for the thousandth time. There had been forty deaths in the Volpina hospital incident. One of them was a Mrs. Rossi which was the more likely reason why Lila had been there. Not because of children, because of financial gain from a dying loved one.

Okay maybe that was a little cruel. But Lila had started it. Alya stuck out her lips crossing Mrs. Rossi’s name out of the possible suspects. This left her with fourteen suspects that may have a tie to Nacht. She groaned looking over them again for some kind of connection. None of the ladies on screen had red hair like Nacht’s, but for all she knew the red hair was only there when he was Nacht. She gave another groan, why couldn’t this be easy?

“Working hard I see” Nino teases stepping into her office with two cups of coffee “I made you some”.

Alya took the cup and set it on her desk. She opened her mouth to thank him only for a wave of nausea to hit her hard. She only has a few seconds to make the mad dash to the bathroom before her stomach empties its contents into the toilet.

Nino hangs out on the door frame to avoid the smell “everything okay Alya? That’s the third time this morning.”

She wiped her mouth with toilet paper and flushes the contents away. “I think I’m just fighting the flu, I’ll be fine.”

Nino puts his hand on her back as she washes her hands “maybe that’s enough work for today, you should get some rest.” 

“But I have to get this done. This could help us find Nacht” Alya argues only for another wave of nausea to flow through her. She grabs the side of the counter and dry heaves a few times.

“Nacht will still be there after a rest” Nino picks Alya up like a princess and carries her to the bedroom. He places her on her side and takes out a bag from a small plastic trash can. Alya sighs and accepts her fate. She flips on the TV and turns it to the news of the previous night. Who would have guessed Chloe would be so pleasant to do an interview with? 

The footage suddenly changed to one of Nacht jumping out of the hotel’s top floor. Alya scrambled to the remote to turn up the volume.

“This incredible footage was captured by Ella Cesaire” one of her coworkers continues. The screen changed to one of the twins now eighteen years of age. Alya bit her cheek and a tiny bit of blood gets into her mouth. Almost instantly her eyes widen. Alya grabs the bucket and relives her stomach of stomach acid. 

Nathaniel shoved his laundry into his bag without folding it. He grabbed the hoodie last and lingers on it. He would drop it off at Luka’s house later if the police weren’t too intense. He glances over at a TV playing a news story of Nacht’s visit to Chloe last night and huffs quietly. How had he missed a god damn news camera pointed at him? Then again the footage was pretty weak, like it was taken from a cell phone. The Cesaire twin popped up and Nathaniel smiles. It looks like someone was still following in on their big sisters footsteps. 

The last time he saw her was on her twelfth birthday. She was on her families balcony with her hair done up in a bun. The music from the party was muffled by the sliding glass doors. He landed in a tree next to the balcony and shook the branch gently. She’s brought out of her thoughts and her face lights up “Nacht?”

“The one and only” Nacht jumped from the branch and elegantly lands on the wooden railing. He gave a bow and crouched to be at her eye level “happy birthday Ella.” He handed her a small gift box wrapped with a bright red bow.

She smirked at him “I’m Etta, you got the wrong twin.”

He smirked back “no I’m pretty sure you’re Ella.” He pokes her cheek “Etta has a slight curl in her bangs and a faint scar on her cheek because someone thought it would be a good idea to try a handstand by a fish tank.” 

Ella giggles and playfully pushes his hand away “man we can’t fool you anymore.” She looks at the box in her hands and tears into it. Inside is a phone charm shaped like a black cat’s tail tied with a red bow. 

“I thought you would need a lucky charm if you’re going to continue being my Nacht watcher” Nacht says as the biggest smile bursts on her face.

“You read my blog?” 

“Course I do, it’s awesome” Nacht steps into the Balcony and she hugs him. “So what’s the biggest theory about me now?” he asks as she attaches the charm to her phone.

“That you’re actually Chat Noir, you changed your name after Ladybug vanished and dyed your hair” Ella announces proudly.

He shakes his head “nope, this is my real colour.”

“Hey Ella they’re bringing out the cake” Etta bursts through the door and stops seeing Nacht with her sister. 

Nacht takes out another gift from behind his back “I did bring something for you as well” he teasingly wiggles it in the air. 

She snatches it from him and tears into the paper. Inside is a pretty pink crystal “it’s a rose quartz, how did you know I was missing this?” Etta hugs the crystal to her chest.

“I have my ways” Nacht purrs proudly. All three of them perk at the sound of Alya calling them inside for cake. “Happy birthday girls” Nacht turns and jumps away. He makes sure to stay in their view long enough for Ella to get a good photo for her blog. 

Bad to the bone suddenly plays Nathaniel jumps. A nearby woman giggles at his behavior. Nath ignores her and answers the stupid phone. 

“So what time are you coming over?” Alix asks with a confident sneer.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Nathaniel shoves the hoodie deep inside his bag. 

“Oh my little spies informed me Luka came to the bakery yesterday and he said yo name” Alix teasingly sings. “Which means I win” he could just see her spinning around in her chair.

He groans and pinches the bridge of his nose “okay fine, what materials do you need me to bring?” 

“Just yourself, oh and maybe some snacks. Jalil thinks I’m some old lady that can’t handle sweets. See you soon” Nath hears her faintly cheer and the phone goes dead. 

About an hour later Nathaniel climbs the ramp to Alix’s house where she lived with her family. He hears Plagg give a satisfied burp “don’t eat all the Camembert, that’s all you’re going to get this month.”

The door opens before Plagg can reply. Nathaniel pauses when he sees no one on the other side. Then a hand suddenly grabs his ankle and he nearly kicks Alix in the face. “Hey Nath, how’s the air up there?” Alix asks chilling on the floor.

“What are you doing down there?” Nathaniel blurts before he can help it. 

“Sometimes it’s too much trouble to get my chair every time I have to pee” Alix replies casually. She eyes the bag of chips he had in a grocery bag “you brought the goods, come with me.” She turns and begins to army crawl down the hall. Nathaniel closes the door behind him taking note of how thick it was. It was enough that Nacht could bust it down using his foot but not his claws or baton. 

He shook those thoughts away and followed Alix. But he couldn’t help it. His eyes darted around the home and his brain made note of every window, every door and every possible weapon. He took a deep breath as they entered a room covered in white sheets. He wasn’t in danger here, he had to chill out. 

Alix crawls over to a lump covered by a white sheet and yanks it off to reveal the most fantastic wheelchair Nathaniel had ever seen. It had speakers by the head rest. A cup holder and a black bag by the hand rest for stuff. The seats looked mighty comfortable and there was a gear shift on the left arm rest. It didn’t have any colour to it other than a green outline over the wheels and seat.

Nathaniel’s jaw opens and shuts “wow this really cool.”

“I know right” Alix pats the wheels gently and points to a bunch of paint supplies “you ready to pimp my ride?” 

Nathaniel picks up a paint mask and tosses her one “ready when you are.” 

Gabriel sighed as he closed off from another video call. He rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. That was enough work for the fashion industry. An endless sea of cloth held together by string and buttons. He had more than enough to retire and he could tell from employees they expected it soon. He was old, out of touch. His designs didn’t sell as much as they used to, his work needed new blood.

He looked over at the one bit of colour in the room. A small ball of red rested on the corner of his desk. “I wonder what designs pigtails would have created for the spring line” he wondered aloud.

“Don’t” Tikki warned under her breath.

Gabriel stoked his chin in thought “she loved flowers, the pink apple blossom was on most of her designs. Perhaps they will trend again.”

“Stop it” Tikki closed her eyes and hid her face in her nubs.

“I mean they haven’t since Ladybug’s most unfortunate passing, but perhaps if I did them in red…”

“STOP” Tikki screamed and glared at him. 

Gabriel put a hand on his chest like he was shook “Tikki can I not honour my favorite fallen hero?”

“You don’t honour her” Tikki growled “you celebrate her death, you celebrate murdering her!” 

Gabriel shook his head with an evil smirk “oh Tikki how many times do I have to tell you? Marinette’s passing was an accident.” The amount of rage that seethed through Tikki made her voice unable to work. Gabriel chuckled and played with the ladybug earrings in his hand. “So I was thinking about what you said, about the mental decay” Gabriel paused enjoying her rage cool to worry. “I think we can use that to our advantage” Gabriel opened some secret files on his computer. 

“Gabriel” Tikki started only for him to glare. “Master” she starts again “this isn’t something you can control.”

“Not as Hawk moth” Gabriel calmly says looking over old akuma inspired outfits and moving away ones he didn’t need. “The ladybug can contain him” he showed her the screen with akuma inspired outfits both old and new. “I will increase akuma attacks focusing on those that are angry, preferably at the night terror himself. I will encourage them to hurt others and leave Nacht no choice but to slaughter them”.

“That amount of destruction, the stress would…” Tikki’s mouth dropped. “You want him to fully break? You’ll cause a massacre and the ring itself could be destroyed!” 

“Aw but here’s the best part” Gabriel tossed an earring into the air and caught it. “Right as he breaks I will transform into Paris’s new saviour Spotted Beetle. With the Ladybug activated he will stall long enough for me to obtain the ring and destroy him once and for all.” His eyes sparkled with madness “Paris will praise me as a hero and I will have both miraculous.”

Tikki’s turned away and studied the ground below “you’re a horrible person Master.” Her scowl softened to an evil smirk for just a second.

“Usually you’re much more creative with your insults. Tikki, tell me what will happen” Gabriel orders crossing his legs.

Tikki frowned and her nub clenched like she was making a fist. She turned to him with her face blank “he would be stopped by the ladybugs power but only after he tore you apart.”

“Even if I wore the ladybug miraculous” Gabriel’s eyebrows rose.

“Especially if you wore the ladybug miraculous” Tikki wore an expression too mean for her cheerful tone. “You see the ladybug and black cat miraculous are two half’s of a whole, yin and yang if you will.”

“Yes I’ve heard this story before” Gabriel huffed.

Tikki opened her eyes wide and smiled “and since Nacht isn’t a pile of sentient fecal matter he likely isn’t your other half. He would see you as a false ladybug, something he had to destroy above all else.”

“So I need to find his other half” Gabriel looked out the window “never thought I’d be the one to play matchmaker”.

“If he even has one” Tikki adds zipping down to place a marker on the floor than back to her position before he noticed. 

“And if not we’ll give you to some poor fellow for Nacht to kill and I’ll pick up the pieces” Gabriel grinned hearing her gasp. He stood and stepped around the desk “and then both miraculous will be MI!” His foot slips on the marker and he falls to the ground with a piggish squeal. 

“Oh master, do be more careful” Tikki coos. Gabriel glares at her and she just smiles in challenge. 

Alya opened her eyes to see the bedroom was dark, how long had she been asleep? She tries to push her glasses off only to find they had been removed. The TV had been turned off too. The door softly opens and Nino peeks in still in his uniform. “Hey how you feeling?” he asks stepping inside.

“Fine” Alya rubs one of her eyes “just woke up.” 

Nino leans on the side of the door “I was thinking of making chicken soup for dinner, are you up for that?”

“Yeah, sure I just want to shower first” Alya crawls out of the bed taking the trash bin with her. Nino watched her disappear into the bathroom and smirks. He picks up her favorite pajamas and fluffy slippers and sets it outside the bathroom. As much as he loved watching her walk around the apartment in just a towel it was getting a little cold for that. 

Alya pulls off her clothes and throws them in the laundry hamper. She frowns at her slightly blurry reflection and turns to her side. Her hands rest over her stomach and she tries a few different angles. Once satisfied she grabs her toothbrush to get the taste of bile out of her mouth. 

Her hand grabs the toothpaste and a crinkle of paper gets her attention. Next to the toothpaste was a rolled note tied with a yellow ribbon. 

She unfolds the paper and her mouth opens, it read “let’s pounce” in orange. On the other side was an address to a place nearby. 

“NINO” Alya screams bursting out of the bathroom and making him almost drop a container of chicken broth. She waves the paper in his face “I GOT A NOTE FROM THE GUARDIAN, WE’RE GOING TO GET OUR MIRACULOUS BACK!”

Alya bolts for the front door when Nino grabs her arm “Alya hold up, what makes you think this is the guardian?”

“No one other than Ladybug, the guardian and well you, know about my secret and the transform me phase.” Alya nearly shoves the note up his nose “and what’s the harm in checking out this address?”

“I’m not against checking but uh” Nino points to her body “pants, maybe a shirt first.” 

A few minutes later Alya is dressed in her casual wear of faded jeans and a red t-shirt. The couple are inside a dirty apartment building staring at a door that looks so old it could be kicked down. “This is the place” Alya mutters and knocking three times. 

The door opens but only darkness greets them. Nino puts a hand on his gun as they step inside. The door slams and the lights suddenly turn on. Alya and Nino are blinded for a second. 

“About time you showed up” a familiar bratty voice says. The two look up to see Chloe in a brown trench coat.

Alya is first to speak “Chloe, you planted that message?” 

Chloe chuckles “well I had some assistance” she takes off her sunglasses and sets them on the table. “So Carapace and Rena Rouge want to come out from retirement?” she asks pretending to check her nails.

“I’m not-I mean I” Nino stutters looking like a lost puppy.

“I know who you are, I had your kwami tell me themselves” Chloe struts over to the miracle box sitting harmlessly in the dirty apartment. It looked out of place with the rotten wood and moldy curtains. “As the new guardian I have the power to activate any miraculous I please to get the info.”

“You’re the guardian” Alya gasps and the blood drains from her face. Chloe scrunches her nose at this and takes her trench coat off. Underneath she’s wearing a black dress with a yellow belt. 

“I found the miracle box so yes I am” Chloe grabs the top of her hair and pulls it off. Her real hair is hidden under a hair net that she pulls off as well. Her hair is as long as it always is if not longer with the bee comb tucked behind her ear. “With the help of Pollen of course” she gestures to the kwami flying in from the window. 

“The note has been planted my queen” Pollen politely bows to her wielder. She turns to the others and gives another bow “and welcome to my queen’s hive, I hope we will work well together.”

“Hive” Nino echo’s jumping between staring at Pollen and Chloe. Chloe shrugs and narrows her brow thinking of what to say.

Alya growls and puts her hands on her hips “so you lied when you said you returned the miraculous. Do you have any idea how badly I wanted to keep mine?” She stomps up to Chloe and jabs her finger in Chloe’s face “you had a miraculous this entire time and could have done something about Nacht. But instead you ran away, you don’t deserve to be guardian!”

Pollen comes to Chloe’s defense, “my queen’s failure to return me was due to shock. I do not blame her for her actions.”

Chloe bit her lip and rested a hand on her comb. “You’re right Alya, I shouldn’t have run away…after finding out Ladybug was Marinette and my father passing. I just couldn’t stay in this city anymore…I left with my mom to America for a while…” She paused and Pollen flew to her shoulder to offer support. Chloe licked her dry lips “I’m sure you can use your reporter brain to figure out how that went.” 

Alya stepped back not used to seeing Chloe so venerable. “You left and started the Sabrina charity, later called No Chaton left behind”.

“Yeah” Chloe’s eyes shook and Pollen flew over to the miracle box. “But let’s get to the reason why I called you here” She bends over to press the dragons eye’s then press a secret code above them. 

Nino and Alya gasp as the miracle box reveals is true self in all its glory. Chloe picks up the fox miraculous with a smirk “someone has to protect Paris and get me the miraculous being misused. Can I count on you two to do it?” 

“Why can’t you do it?” Nino asks while Alya takes her miraculous from Chloe. With a flash of orange light Trixx appears and the two hug.

“The guardian has to protect the miracle box at all times” Chloe states and Pollen nods. “Hawk moth or Nacht could learn from their kwami that because I still have Pollen I might be the next guardian so they can’t know I still have her.”

“Is that why you have a wig as well?” Alya asks with Trixx now on her head. 

“Yup, so long as I look just like my god awful mother Hawk moth will think I’m still the akuma causing brat with no miraculous.” A hint of venom sneaks into her voice. She plucks out the turtle miraculous and offers it to Nino “so Carapace, are you in or what?”

Nino lets out a big sigh “okay I’m in.”

 

Carapace crouched on the edge of a building like a gargoyle. His googles gave him a grand view of everything, the lights, and the people in windows. The cars down below looked like speedy ants. “Man I missed this view” he hummed with a small smile.

“So did I” Rena Rouge says from behind. His smile falls and hers grows more mischievous “it looks so good in kwami leather.”

Carapace sighs “Rena, please stop staring at my ass.”

Rena makes a cute happy noise and crawls over to him “oh and I missed you calling me that.” She sits so close to him he has to shuffle slightly to maintain balance. “We’re super heroes going to save the day” she sings softly in his ear.

“We only have one shot to do this with the element of surprise. I need you to focus” Carapace replies sternly.

She’s bouncing in her seat “you’re so sexy when you take charge.” Carapace scowls and she moves to sit on her legs. “Okay sorry” she puts a hand to her chest and inhales, then pushes it away with an exhale. “I’m just excited, I’ve waited for this day for so long.”

“So have I” Carapace put a hand on her back “let’s finish Nacht Katze once and for all.”

There was no moon tonight, usually something that disappointed Nacht. His claws didn’t glint off the artificial lights as much as they did the moon. But tonight he’s just in a great mood. Alix’s chair looked awesome after the paint job and had even paid him for it in ice cream. He couldn’t wait for her to show it off tomorrow. 

He was supposed to help Tom super early tomorrow so normally he would skip the patrol unless an akuma attacked. But tonight he had a little errand to do before he went to bed. The hoodie was warm and the smell of blue had mostly dulled from the wash. This was perhaps was for the best if he was to return it. His tail was wrapped around one leg so he looked like a parkour junkie rather than the terror of Paris. 

He hummed a song in his head that he couldn’t quite remember the name to. He’s about to jump to the next rooftop when something catches his eye. He paused and waited for it again. 

There it was again! Nacht’s eyes caught a flash of orange zipping around a corner. Curious Nacht crept over and saw a silhouette of a person running away. His night vision reveals they had long ears on their head and their eyes had a similar glow to his. 

No ordinary person walked around dressed like that. Nacht’s eyes flashed and a huge smile crawled onto his face. He cupped his mouth to muffle the giggles that tried to escape. You had to be quiet on a hunt. 

He stalked the figure across Paris, staying far enough away so they couldn’t see him. He wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise. His heartbeat increased as they landed on the ground and ran inside an underground parking lot. There were few exits and little room for movement. They were trapped! 

A string suddenly sways by his vision and he remembers he’s wearing Luka’s hoodie. Right, right, we want to keep it clean. Nacht pulls the hoodie off and carefully places it in the cleanest part of the roof he could find. A cool wind blows through his hair now free from the hoodies fabric. Nacht grinned and his eyes opened a bit too wide. A part of his mind overtook the other. 

He landed not in the middle of the opening but to the left side. Heroes were the ones who stood boldly in the centre and called out to the villains. 

He had stopped being that a long time ago.

He went on all fours and crept into the lot. He passed by three cars when the lights suddenly burst to life.

“NACHT” Carapace shouts from behind the blinded cat. He’s now standing in the middle of the entrance with his arms crossed “this ends now.”

Nacht felt the need to stare away like he’s looking into a camera. See what I mean? The original figure appears out of the corner of his eye. Rena Rouge had her flute in one hand and the other in a fist. “You have nowhere to run” Rena chimes confidently.

Nacht’s ears twitched and he winced. God he hated the preppy ones. His tail uncurls from his leg as he stands up. He takes out his baton and stabs the earth in front of him. The annoyance being replaced with mischief “Carapace, Rena Rouge, man I’m getting nostalgic” he twirls the baton lazily in his hand. He looks at Carapace with his eyes and slowly turns his head towards him. 

Carapace didn’t show it but the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Nacht went from an animal to an animatronic in one fluid movement. His eyes are too bright and his smile too wide.

“Too bad I’m not Chat Noir” Nacht suddenly falls on his hands and pounces towards Carapace. 

Carapace pulls out his shield seconds before Nacht’s baton hit. The weapons clanged loudly in the parking lot. Nacht giggled and stuck again and again. Carapace stepped back as Nacht eagerly tried to slip around the shield. 

Rena holds her flute like a bat and runs towards Nacht. Such a stupid action is easily dodged by Nacht. He flows behind her and snakes his arm around her ponytail. He slams her face into a car. Like a mutilated yo-yo he pulls her back and smashes her on another one. Carapace charges and Nacht twirls Rena in front of him as a human shield. 

Time slows as Carapace almost smashes Rena’s face. He moves last second and hits the pavement instead. Nacht kicks Rena over him and laughs at their crumpled heap.

“I finally get a fight with miraculous users and this is what I get” Nacht taunts resting his baton on one shoulder. 

Rena wipes her nose with the back of her hand. Some blood from her nose stains her glove. “Cheap shot” she mutters wiping the blood on her pants. 

Nacht shrugs and climbs on a car “what did you expect? You don’t protect Paris alone for as long as I have fighting honorably.” He spat the word alone with anger. His grip on the baton tightened for half a second.

Carapace gets to his feet and readies his shield “your nine lives are up Nacht Katze.” 

Nacht’s eyes flash “actually I’ve had it for ten”. 

Carapace blocks the first strike up high and leaves his legs wide open. Nacht knees him in the groin and grabs Rena’s fist before it could land. He cracks her knuckles and kicks her away. Nacht returns to Carapace and grabs his head. He smashes Carapace’s head against a car and the bumper is severally damaged. 

Rena pounces only for Nacht to grab her and use her momentum against her. She crashes to the floor. She stands right back up and swings her flute. Nacht blocks each strike easily with a small smile. Rena’s face turned red as her frustration grew, he wasn’t even taking this seriously. 

Finally Nacht tired of playing and trapped her flute pointed to the ground. He round house kicks her off balance and uses the baton to hit the back of her knee hard. She cries out and he claws her back to change it to a scream.

He turned his claw to look at it. A slight pout on his lips upon seeing it was dry. 

“You can’t break through miraculous fabric” Carapace snaps. Nacht looks over in time for the shield to smash his face. He falls back and leans against a red sports car. 

Nacht shook the dizziness away and checked his face in the side mirror. No cut, good, cuts were hard to cover up on the face. 

Carapace picks up his shield keeping his eyes on Nacht. The way he stared at his reflection was the most human act he had seen Nacht do. Nacht looked back at him and the cat eyes glowed in delight. “What’s under that hood?” 

Nacht runs across the cars forcing Carapace to move in a circle to keep him in his sights. He couldn’t let him get behind him. Nacht sped up and Carapace slows just enough for an opportunity. 

He pounced on Carapace’s back and ripped the hood off. He leaned in and dragged his tongue on the exposed skin. 

Rena plays a fast version of her song “MIRAGE” she chucks the light towards Nacht. Nacht blinks and finds himself surrounded by dozens of Rena’s. “Get off him you monster” they all order at the same time.

Nacht purrs so Carapace can feel the vibration on his back. His breath still on Carapace’s neck, a gentle reminder he could end this fight at any moment. The Rena’s attack and Nacht moves out of their way. He runs on all fours pretending to be startled by them attacking at every angle. His eyes were on their legs, looking for the one with the blood. 

Bingo. He grabs the real Rena’s leg in his teeth and drags her to the ground. He jumps on Rena’s chest and begins clawing at everything the fabric didn’t touch. Rena was smart enough to have it protecting her neck and a large mask protecting most of her face. But there was still some cheek, the lips, and some forehead to play with. His claws swipes at her hair and he pulls out a clump of hair. Rena screams and he grins in excitement. She uses her hands to defend herself and he slams them against the concrete causing more screams. His eyes fall on her necklace, her miraculous. Remove it and there would be more skin, more skin to claw, and more blood to spill, more, more, more! 

A gunshot rings echo’s in his ears. Nacht stops and puts a hand on his right shoulder. Another bullet fires into his back. He looks over to see Carapace pointing a gun at him. His breaths shaky yet his arms steady. 

“You’re a cop” Nacht mumbled. 

“FUCK YOU” Carapace screamed firing again and hitting Nacht in the chest. Nacht flinches but the bullet doesn’t make it all the way through him. It lands on the ground with a ting. “HOW MANY BULLETS WILL IT TAKE FOR YOU TO DIE?” Carapace screams firing at the other side of Nacht’s chest. 

Nacht pants twice and smiles coldly “you just need better aim.” 

Nacht charges on all fours and Carapace fires twice but misses. Nacht pounces on him and dug his claws into Carapace’s neck, just enough to make him bleed. Maybe it was a trick of the flickering lights but Carapace swore Nacht’s eyes became fearful for a second. Nacht jumped off him and ran out of the parking lot. 

The silence is broken by the sounds of Rena sobbing. Carapace rolls to his front covering his neck wound with his hand. He walks over to her and his heart crumbles to the floor. Rena’s beautiful hair had been torn off and lay in tatters on the floor. The cuts on her face weren’t deep but were in the thousands. The blood was diluted with her tears and her hands rested over her stomach. 

Carapace picks up his wife and starts the long walk back to the hive. “I’m so sorry Alya, I’m so sorry” he chants all the way there.

Nacht climbed the roof and threw on the hoodie. It was still warm, he hadn’t even been gone an hour. His legs shook and he fell to the ground. A loud groan left his mouth, it hurt, his chest and back hurt. 

Slowly he got to his feet and continued his way to Luka’s, all that mattered was returning the hoodie. His breath stuttered and rain began to fall from the sky. It washed off the blood from his claws and he picked up speed. 

He landed on the windowsill and peeked inside. The curtains were blocking his view. He groaned and set his head against the glass. There was a gentle thrum on the other side. A faint sound of a guitar playing a song he didn’t remember. 

The thrum slowed his thoughts. He sighed and closed his eyes. He doesn’t see the flash of lightning that stuck way too close for comfort, but Luka does.

Luka knows that shape doesn’t belong on the other side of his window. He gulped and sat the guitar down by his bed. Rose was working and Juleka was at a friend’s. He was alone. He picked up a small can of pepper spray and hid it under his sleeves. If he was going to die he was at least going to try defending himself. 

He opens the blinds and sees Nacht on the other side. Thunder boomed and Nacht’s eyes pop open. They rest on Luka and Luka takes a deep breath before opening the window. “Sorry I got it a little wet” Nacht mutters pouncing into the room elegantly. He even missed the plants this time, especially the catnip. 

“That’s okay, it can dry” Luka says as Nacht slowly takes it off and hands it to him. Luka frowned at Nacht wincing when he moved his arms above his head. “Are you okay Nacht?” 

“Bad hunting trip” Nacht replied with emotion “guy had a gun.”

“And he shot you?” Luka against better judgement stepped towards him looking for injuries. “You should get to the hospital here I’ll…” he grabbed his phone and Nacht stopped his hand with his own. Nacht’s claws are withdrawn as he takes the phone and throws it on the bed.

“My suit protected me, worst I’ll get is some bruises” Nacht states rubbing at one on his chest. “Besides the doctors wouldn’t help me, they’d want me dead.”

Luka almost argued but held his tongue. He knew from working with adults and kids in therapy that would only make things worse. Instead he spoke softly “Nacht…do you really think that?”

“Of course I do” Nacht muttered “you’ve seen what I’ve done, I’m a monster.” His voice cracks and tears threatened to spill. What the hell? He had gone over these facts over and over in his head. Did saying them out loud make them bite again? 

“You know what I think?” Luka asks gently. Nacht doesn’t respond so he continues “I think you’re someone who’s been beaten by the people you swore to protect for so long you paint yourself as what they see you as. I think you want to help people, but you’re trapped in the role they made you play.”

Nacht stiffened and looked away from Luka’s eyes. He watched Luka’s feet walk over to his bed and sit on it. “I’ve been working on my song from yesterday; do you want to hear it?” 

Nacht’s mouth moved on its own “yeah….” Luka smiled at him and began to play. Nacht lowered to the floor to watch him, the music drowning out the rain outside, the thoughts in his head. When Luka finished Nacht blinked as if coming out of a trance. “I should” Nacht starts with his tongue heavy “I should get going…” 

A flash of lightning followed almost immediately by thunder makes them both jump. Luka chuckles at their behavior “maybe you should wait out the storm first.”

“You’d want me to stay?” Nacht tilts his head. His head was starting to hurt as if trying to make his chest and back feel better. 

“I don’t think you’ll eat me if that’s what you’re thinking” Luka jokes with a cute smile. It falls when he sees the pain in Nacht’s expression. 

“Can’t” Nacht spoke “I need to go” Nacht pushed open the window and jumped away. Luka watched him disappear into the storm and slowly released a breath. 

The storm was so harsh all birds and insects had disappeared for their own safety. All expect one. A white butterfly with a blinking red camera on its back recorded Nacht leaving Luka’s room. 

Hawk moth grinned watching from his end with a smirk. His butterflies swarm and scatter as he lets out an evil laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Chloe is the new guardian, ain't that neat? I had a scene where she buys the miracle box from the nursing home but it took away from the pace and felt boring to me so I took it out.  
> Also when Nacht said he had it for ten years that was not correct. Nacht is bad at math.


	5. The black cats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back?  
> Back again?  
> Eevee's back  
> Tell a friend  
> Hi everyone did you miss me? anyway it was a race between this and miraculous voltron for the next chapter and this one won. enjoy the angst

“Why are you putting honey on my face?” Alya whimpers sitting on her knees. The girls were in a more private room with their kwami. It looked like a gutted bathroom that was missing both the tub and the toilet. Chloe had given her a silk robe to change into and was wearing a similar one over cute honeybee pajamas. With Chloe putting honey on her and Pollen fixing what remained of her hair Alya felt like she was at a sleepover.

“Honey will help keep the cuts clean from bacteria” Pollen answers and sets the scissors down on the counter. “I’m afraid I couldn’t save much, but you look very beautiful” Pollen held up a small mirror for her. Alya took the mirror and her eyes filled up again. Her hair now didn’t even cover her neck; instead it rested on the top of her skull in small curls. She would have to get used to it but that didn’t mean she had to like it. 

“Oh honey, don’t cry” Pollen soothed patting her back. Alya only cried harder and Chloe shoved a tissue into her hands to dry her tears before they messed up the honey mask. “Trixx can always put the ponytail back when you transform” Pollen added with a cheerful smile. 

“No, no, no, no” Trixx chants flying in after finishing his snack. He crossed his paws and plopped down on the counter “we will not be transforming again”. Alya’s mouth dropped and she sobbed again. Trixx’s expression softened “Alya your body goes through a strain when we transform, that’s fine and dandy when it’s just you but you’re not alone are you?”

Chloe closed the honey jar and licked some off her fingers “what are you talking about Trixx?” 

Alya looked to the ground and Trixx let out a slow breath. “Are you going to tell the guardian or am I?” Trixx asks softly.

Alya sighs and her hands settle on her stomach “Chloe…I’m pregnant”.

“Of course you are” Chloe pinches the bridge of her nose. “Does he know?” Chloe gestured with her head to the door. Nino’s voice softly drifts in from his conversation with Wayzz. 

“No, not yet” Alya shakes her head and whimpers “it’s only a third or fourth week, I just want Paris to be safe for my baby”. As soon as baby slipped from her lips more tears fall from her face. Pollen flies in with a fresh cup of warm water. Alya doesn’t question where she got it too eager to have a sip. “Is my baby okay? Is Marinette okay?”

“Sheesh only the first trimester and you’ve already named it” Chloe rolls her eyes and picks up Trixx by the scruff of his neck. “You started this, you check” she orders flicking Trixx over to Alya’s belly.

Trixx sighs and puts a paw on her belly “may I?” he asks politely. Alya nods and Trixx phases his head into her gut. Alya flinches not expecting that but Chloe keeps her still. After a moment Trixx sticks his head back out “the baby’s fine, scared for its mamma but nothing serious”.

Alya let out a breath she didn’t realise she was holding. Chloe helped her to her feet and handed her the jar of honey. “Reapply the honey before you go to bed, they should heal in no time” Chloe states like a doctor. “Pollen’s honey is also safe enough for you to use for morning sickness” she adds and Pollen beams prideful. 

“Thanks” Alya says quietly “please don’t tell Nino, I want to tell him myself” she adds quickly. 

“Sure whatever” Chloe says opening the door, Nino stops pacing on the other side and his eyes widen. For a second Alya freezes thinking he overheard everything.  
Nino offers a small smile “it’s a good look on you” he touches some of her hair.

“Even with the honey mask?” Alya jokes as he carefully set his hand on her hip. 

“Just makes you sweeter” he kisses a thick part above her brow and she giggles. 

“Alright so down to business” Chloe interrupts before the two got any sappier than she could handle. “I’ll be letting you two keep your kwami with you in case an opportunity arrives to stop Nacht or an akuma appears” she closes the miracle box and it goes back to its ordinary self. “You two should head home, I need to go to mine” she waves them away and puts her hair back under her wig.

“Are you walking home in your pajamas?” Alya blurts raising an eyebrow. 

“Shit you can…” Chloe pauses and sighs. “I should have figured you’d see through it eventually mistress of illusion” Chloe snaps her fingers. The couple gasp as the room completely changes. It turned into a modest home in perfect condition. 

Pollen giggles at their expressions “my queen used her subjection voice to make you think you were elsewhere to keep the hive safe.”

“What” Nino blinks and touches the now perfect walls. “I thought your power was venom, you like paralyse people”.

“The longer you have a miraculous the better you get with their power” Chloe explains with a smirk. “Oh and thanks for cleaning up the place for me, it was really helpful” she throws in a wink.

“We didn’t…” Alya doesn’t bother finishing the sentence. “Does this mean Nacht and Hawk moth might have new powers too?”

“It’s possible” Chloe looks over at Pollen who nods. “You two need to be prepared for anything” she glances over at Alya “but don’t take any risks; we can’t lose any more miraculous or worse.” Alya nods and Nino’s hand tightens on hers. He just thought it meant their lives, but Alya knew she was referring to the little one. 

The second they left Chloe dropped her cool leader façade and slapped her hands to her face. “I am the worst! The first two miraculous I give out and one of them is pregnant” Chloe paces her apartment and Pollen gets to work. She starts the kettle and gets out Chloe’s favorite mug out with a tea bag. “Pollen” Chloe calls her over to her bedroom. 

Pollen flies into the room “yes my queen?” 

“Have you sensed Barkk yet?” Chloe asks with her face puffy from scrubbing off her makeup. 

Pollen frowned and shook her head “no not yet, perhaps he hasn’t seen it”.

“You put it in a very obvious spot right?”

“Of course my queen, it’s right next to his car keys. We just have to wait a little longer” Pollen perked at the sound of the tea kettle. She zipped away to quiet it and pour Chloe her tea. Chloe takes the cup Pollen handed her with a cute little plate. 

“Was it the right choice?” Chloe sets the teacup on her lap. “To give Adrien a miraculous, I mean he’s super heroic and he wants nothing more than to stop Hawk moth once and for all. But you know how he took Marinette’s death he” she stops herself there.

“We went through this many times before my Queen. Although Adrian took Marinette’s death hard, he continues to fight for this city. You have good judgement and I’m sure he’ll accept as soon as he sees it”.

Chloe sighs and picks up the remote to her flat screen TV “thanks Pollen, let’s watch a movie before bed.”

Pollen zips out of the room “I will make popcorn” she announces cheerfully.

“Only put honey on your bowl” Chloe calls back, while she scrolls through available tittles. 

Meanwhile Adrien stares at a smaller version of the miracle box in front of him. He could never forget the first time he saw a box like this. Back then it was the best day of his life, the day he could escape from his father’s suffocating grasp. It was the day he made a new friend in the form of a cheese eating cat, the day he met the love of his life. 

“You really think you deserve a second chance?” 

Adrien jumped at the voice and turned to face the green eyes of Chat Noir. He stood in the bathroom. He was shorter than Adrien, his face still young. His eyes still had a fierce fire that made them glow in the darkened apartment. 

“What the hell makes you think you deserve this?” Chat snapped bearing his fangs.

“I don’t” Adrien snaps back.

“DAMN RIGHT” Chat roared making Adrien flinch. “You failed her, you let her die!”

It had been storming hard, the city of lights turned into a land of darkness. He saw Hawk moth in a brief flash of lightning. Ladybug was beside him, yelling something heroic to Hawk moth. He couldn’t remember what she said; he was starting to forget what she sounded like. Things like her laughter, her heroic speeches, her gentle words and playful banter. All of it evaporated into wind, everything but her final words, her final scream. 

One second he was beside her, the next he collapsed on a beam. It was a one in a million chance that he would land on his baton the way he did. It knocked off the bell and pierced his windpipe. 

The Eiffel tower was where they made their start, where he fell for her. It was also where she fell, with a cord wrapped around her neck.

He couldn’t breathe. He had to save her. Her costume was dissolving, her earrings successfully ripped off. 

He reached her too late. Her body bounced as the rope reached its end. He grabbed her and slammed into the side of the tower. His claws fought to free her neck from the cable; her neck was bent at an awkward angle. 

“Chat” passed her lips, or maybe it was the last bit of air escaping her. They fell to the ground and he fought to stay conscious, to see her face for the first time. 

Adrien grasped his throat where a scar was hidden under his collar. “Can’t breathe Adrian?” Chat taunts “you were supposed to protect her, you let her die.” 

“Shut up” Adrien turns away from Chat, but his voice keeps pounding like an alarm. 

“YOU LET HER DIE, YOU LET HER DIE!”

“SHUT UP” Adrien swings a fist at Chat’s face. There’s a loud cracking sound as it hits Chat right between the eyes. 

Blood stains his blond hair and drips between his eyes “you let her die”.

Adrien grips the edge of the counter till his knuckles were white. His mirror reflection shattered into three pieces. His knuckle now sports a cut from the glass. He looks away and wraps some toilet paper around his hand.

He finishes the bandage and walks over to the miraculous box. He didn’t deserve another chance. He picks it up intending on throwing it out the window when a thought hits him. He might not deserve a miraculous but he knew plenty of people who did. Adrien stuffs the box in his back pocket and leaves for the office. 

The next morning Alix climbs off her chair onto the counter. She’s still in her pajamas which consisted of a white tank top and black shorts. She didn’t have to worry about concealing her lack of legs here. With a loud grunt she heaves up and balances on her hips. She opens the cupboard and sees her prize on the top shelf. “Come on, come on” she chants reaching with her left hand. Her fingers gently brush the edge of the smooth peanut butter jar. She grunts and reaches further.

“SHIT” Alix screams as she slips and falls to the ground. She crashes into her wheelchair and cries out holding her side. Her head bangs the cupboards below and a bunch of dirty dishes clatter down beside her. Her breath hitches and she picks up a dirty spoon. “GAHHHHHH!” Alix turns and chucks the spoon at the cupboard. “WHY DID YOU PUT THE FUCKING PEANUT BUTTER ON THE TOP SHELF? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO MAKE A SANDWICH” She screams throwing more dishes up at the damn jar. Her aim is wild and only accomplishes creating a bigger mess. “FUCKING KIM, FUCKING WHY” her voice shatters and the tears finally fall. She grabs the wheel of her chair and sobs loudly.

A few years ago she was in a blank white room wearing a hospital gown. Her hair out of its pigtails and hung limp on her shoulders. She has her head pressed against the window and her eyes closed. What was the point of looking out? The doctor and her family were long gone but their conversation still boomed in her skull. 

Her legs were gone, they couldn’t save them. She’d never walk again.

“Hey Alix” Kim’s voice makes her open her eyes. He’s wearing the same hoodie he’s been wearing since high school.

“Go away Kim, I don’t want to see anyone right now” Alix turns away and wraps her blanket tighter around herself. It was a lot easier to do so when she was just half a body. 

Kim ignores her like he always does. He steps into the room with a grocery kart of all things “okay get in.”

Alix tilts her head “what?”

“You’ve been stuck in here all week, you need to get out and enjoy Chloe free Paris” Kim explains while at the same time explaining nothing. “Now get in the grocery kart” he parks it by her bed and holds out his hand for her to take. 

“No Kim” Alix snaps sharply. She turns away not wanting to see his face “just leave me alone.” And like the stupid idiot he is Kim refuses. He continues to stand there with the damn grocery kart until Alix clenches her fists and throws her pillow at him. “GO AWAY! Can’t you see I can’t race you anymore? I can’t wear my roller skates again because I have no fucking legs!” Alix grabs at another pillow and chucks it at him. Kim throws the first one back on the bed and uses the other to gently smack her. Alix roars and hits him hard with the pillow. 

Kim makes a funny scream and falls onto the bed sticking his tongue out like a dead cartoon character. Alix sticks her lip out and her cheeks stretch out until she can’t hold back giggles any longer. “Ah you can still kick my ass” Kim groans rolling off the bed to collapse hard on the ground. 

“Damn right I can” Alix brags wiping tears from her eyes. 

Kim bounces back up and rests his arms on her bed “that’s because you’re the most amazing girl I know. You kick ass, when life tries to kick your ass you get back up and kick its ass right back”.

Alix pauses looking at his soft brown eyes “I can’t kick ass anymore, I have no feet to kick with”.

“Then punch its ass, life is all about adapting to life’s ass” Kim jumps up and throws a few punches into the air. “Punch it’s ass, pinch it’s ass, smack its ass, call it’s ass names-“

“Eat its ass” Alix adds in with a shit eating grin. 

Kim holds a finger in the air “I only eat Max’s, but you do you.”

Alix falls back covering her head “TMI DUDE!” 

“You started it” Kim says with a proud smile. “Now get in the kart, we’re going racing around the museum”. 

Kim had been the big brother that pulled her back whenever she slipped. Whenever the cold reality of never being able to walk tried to drown her he was there with terrible jokes and ridiculous stunts. If he hadn’t been there she would never have brought her dream rink. Never would have dressed as a hooked mermaid on Halloween or learned to race on her wheelchair. Kim had stuck by her all these years she was adjusting to her new life, even got trained as a care aid so he could help her any way he could.

And now he was gone.

Alix hears a thump and opens her eyes. Part of the sun was blocked by a shadow behind her. “Jalil if you start a lecture about me being more careful I’m going to stab you in the eye” she snaps turning around. She gasps and holds the plastic knife out in front of her chest.

Nacht wasn’t looking at her; instead he was looking at the jar of peanut butter in his claws. “Quite the temper over peanut butter” he muses throwing it down towards her. It rolls into her hand keeping her up. “Not much of a nut cat myself, I’m more into meat” he smiles showing off his fangs “but I’m sure you know that already”.

“I should kill you” Alix hisses through clenched teeth “Kim was my best friend. You killed him; you killed him on what should have been the best day of his life!” They were supposed to be planning a wild party. She was supposed to be encouraging him to make her his best man. Her anger is so great she grabs the peanut butter and throws it at him. Nacht catches it and steps into the home. He sets the jar down and bats away plate shards she was now throwing at him. 

She’s about to grab a broken glass when his hand grabs hers. “Let go of me you freak” she snarls pulling back and hitting his arm. He ignores her and picks her up like she weighed nothing at all. He’s able to hold her in one arm while the other drags the wheelchair. She fights him all the way to the couch where he places her. “I HATE YOU!” She screams trying to stab him with the knife. It breaks when it hits his chest and she screams in frustration. 

Nacht took everything she threw at him without a peep. He barely moves until his eye catches his prize. His arm strikes out and snags the akuma butterfly coming for her wheelchair. Alix stops screaming upon seeing the butterfly struggling in his claws. He used the hand without the ring; the akuma had nowhere to go. 

“I figured you would break today, thought I’d save myself the trouble of fighting an akuma” Nacht explains coolly. Alix watches fascinated as he digs his claw into part of the butterflies wing. Even the small victims he played with, lighting her flame once more.

“You wouldn’t have had to if you spared Kim” she hissed making the akuma flap trying to get to her. Hot tears gather at the corners of her eyes “why did you kill him?”  
Nacht’s ears flicker and he looks at her. He knew the real question, knew it far too well. Why did he kill him and spare her? 

“I didn’t want to” Nacht says activating cataclysm without even saying the words. He touches the butterfly and watches as it struggles then turns to ash. “I didn’t want to kill him…” he repeats watching the dust flutter to the floor. 

“Then why…”

“His arrow hit me” Nacht continues staring at one of his silver claws “I had to end him before it took effect.”

“Why you got people you care about?” Alix asks rudely. 

“Yes” Nacht looks in her direction. There looked to be tears in his eyes but that had to be a trick of the light. Nacht didn’t care about anyone, he just didn’t. 

Alix swallows a lump in her throat “well I hope they leave you, I hope you end up all alone like you deserve.”

Nacht turns away and climbs back up to the window he came in. He looks back at her for a second “me too”. He jumps away leaving Alix alone. She looks at her chair to see the peanut butter, the loaf of bread and a new plastic knife ready for sandwich making. Nacht must have gathered them while she was having her fit. She grabs the stuff and starts eating the peanut butter right from the jar. 

Nino steps into Adrien’s office adjusting his sleeves so the miraculous remained hidden. “Did you even leave last night?” he jokes sitting down across from him. He looks over the messy room, papers spilled out all over the desk. One or two stress toys thrown about and at least eight dirty coffee cups laying around. He picks up one and tosses it in the trash can. 

“I got in super early” Adrien says pushing his glasses up. Without constant makeup and prep work from modeling he had dark circles under his eyes. 

“I can see that” Nino watches him down the remainder of a cup that was definitely cold by the face Adrien pulled. “So what did you call me in for?” he asks peeking at Adrien’s computer. It was just the usual open word documents and news articles. He does smile at the open Lady blog where Alya had already posted about the possibility of hero’s returning. She dropped just enough to get the public buzzing, then when the moment was perfect she’d reveal them and the internet would explode.

Adrien turns around on his chair with an expression Nino can’t read. “I got something from…my father yesterday but it’s not really my style. Consider it an early birthday present” Adrien pulls out the box and Nino’s mouth goes dry. His fist covers his mouth trying to hide his shock.

“I uh I don’t usually wear jewelry” he finds himself saying while his mind is running a mile a minute. That was a miraculous, what does Adrien mean it isn’t his style? “Did you even look inside it?” he asks trying to play it cool.

Adrien shakes his head “nah didn’t have to” he shoves the box into Nino’s hands.

“You really should” Nino argues pushing it back into Adrien’s.

“I really don’t”

“Yes you do”

“No I don’t” Adrien shoves the box firmly into Nino’s hands. “I know what’s in there and…” he trails off and slumps back onto his chair. “I don’t deserve it okay, but you do” he confesses looking at Nino. He has his mouth open like a fish with no sound coming out. Adrien shrugs and inhales sharply, screw it. “Inside that box is a miraculous, the same kind that made Ladybug and Chat Noir. Use it and be a superhero Paris deserves.”

“Why can’t you?” Nino asks because of course he does. Adrien squeezes his hands and sighs. Nino just stands there waiting for an answer. Adrien could spin the wheel of excuses, covered in dust and rust from years of neglect. But what was the point? He wasn’t going to wield a miraculous ever again and Nino was his best friend. Not to mention they were in a police station protected by dozens of akuma bullets. 

“Because Nino…I am Chat Noir” 

Adrien is half disappointed he didn’t explode after revealing his secret. No ghost of Marinette to strangle him or Hawk moth busting in to finish him off. There was just Nino gawking at him silently. Adrien sighs and picks at some dirt under his nail waiting for Nino to reboot.

Finally he does “That…that explains a lot.”

Adrien throws his arms out with a toothless smile “ta da, not quite the reveal you expected is it?”

“That doesn’t explain why you don’t want a second chance” Nino blurts throwing his hands above his head. “Don’t you want to stop the guy that’s abusing your old miraculous? Your old Kwami?” 

Adrien stops his nail picking “how do you know about kwami?”

Nino groans and slaps his head. He puts his hand up to wave and the sleeve fell down revealing the miraculous “hi I’m Carapace”.

Adrien laughs, laughs of all things. It was just too funny. “Well shit now what are we going to do with it?” he asks in between dry laughter. He grabs another cup of liquid and downs it to wet his throat. Almost regretting it based off the taste and age. 

“You take it” Nino hands him the miraculous. “And we’ll fight together to stop Nacht and Hawk moth” he puts his hand on Adrien’s shoulder. Adrien just stares at him blankly so he decides to call in for backup “come one Wayzz help me out”.

The kwami comes out from Nino’s pocket. Adrien frowns and moves back in his chair. He completely misses what the wise kwami says the first time. Wayzz clears his throat and tries again “it would be best to join Nino in stopping Nacht. You must feel responsible for allowing him to find your miraculous in the first place.”

Adrien sighs “of course I feel responsible…”

Adrien had just finished a photo shoot for Gabriel when it happened. He had thrown on a comfortable black hoodie when the familiar baton landed in front of him. He thought fate was playing a cruel trick on him but he still picked it up and carried it in the direction it came. 

He saw a figure in black digging in a tree and made the baton extend into his head. The figure fell and quite impressively twisted his body to land on his front. Not quite his feet but closer then Adrien had ever accomplished. He lifted his head and his eyes opened wide “oh thanks I was looking for that”.

He grabs the baton but Adrien doesn’t let go, his eyes looking the kid over. His long red hair was tied back in a black bow with large cat ears atop his head. His eyes were cat like and teal rather than green like most Halloween costumes. “That’s an impressive Chat Noir costume” he hears himself say as he lets go of the baton.

“It’s no costume” the kid says making the baton return to fighting size. He grins and his cat ear twitches “well I mean it is a costume but I’m no copycat, I’m Chat Noir’s successor Nacht Katze”.

“I don’t believe you, Chat’s power has been lost” Adrien smirks checking to make sure his hoodie was still in place. Nacht continued doing some practice swings with a stance so terrible the wind could knock him over.

Nacht looks over with a gleeful expression and flicks his hand out “I’ll show you, Cataclysm!” The power swirls around his hand making Adrien’s mouth go dry. Nacht does a backflip and uses the cataclysm on a small rock. It crumbles into dust. The smile falls when his ring starts its timer “uh any chance you have-“

“Camembert?” Adrien finishes and pulls out a chunk from his pocket “I always carry some with me, old habits die hard.”

The moment the words are said the boys froze. Nacht’s eyes focused on him and by instinct Adrien uses the hood to hide more of his face “wait you’re Chat Noir?” 

Adrien sighs considering his options. “The one and only” he says tossing the cheese at Nacht. “Go recharge and meet me here, if you’re going to take my job you should at least know how to use your tools”. He pokes a good sized stick with his toe and flicks it into his hands. He spins it around and points it at Nacht. 

“So you taught Nacht how to fight” Nino says now leaning against the wall. Wayzz now sits on the desk nibbling on an old sugar doughnut.

“Someone had to show that kitten the ropes” Adrien says grabbing a pencil and twirling it in his hands.

Nacht spun the baton like Chat had showed him. “Now you got it” Chat says spinning his own stick baton. “And begin” he suddenly darts towards Nacht and jabs the stick towards Nacht’s face. Nacht blocks and the two begin a sword fight with Chat on the offensive. He backs Nacht up against a tree and readies his final strike. 

Nacht moves his head last second and uses the tree to jump over Chat and turn the fight on him. Chat tries to regain control but can’t before Nacht destroys his stick and has his baton against his throat. “Looks like I win this round” Nacht chirps not noticing how Chat’s breathe hitches. Chat grabs the baton and moves it away from his scar. 

“Yeah, you win kitten” Chat says thankful he got off his chest. Chat sits up and covers the panic he felt with a coughing fit. Nacht sits beside him and watches the sun begin to set.  
Once Chat has recovered he sighs relaxing against the grass “so Nacht do you have a ladybug?”

A faint blush covers Nacht’s cheeks “well kind of, I haven’t asked if he feels the same.”

“Well you should tell him” Chat orders leaning up on his arm. “I never got to tell Ladybug how much she meant to me and I lost my chance” he sighs and Nacht’s massive cat ears fold against his head. Chat forces a smile and pets behind one of those ears “you can do it kitten, I know he’ll feel the same”.

Nacht leans into the touch before realising what he was doing and playfully batting Chat’s hand away. “What makes you so sure?” he asks fixing his hair.

“We’re black cats, we’re purr-fect partners” Chat jokes stretching out the r and making Nacht chuckle under his breath. Chat pats Nacht on the back “best of luck kitten.”

“He learned pretty quickly, I thought he could handle what I couldn’t…but what was I thinking? I couldn’t handle akuma’s on my own, there’s no way he could” Adrien flinches as the pencil snaps in his hands. “You understand why I can’t take this, I’ve messed up enough” he runs a hand through his hair and hands Nino the miraculous. “If you won’t take it give it back to whoever sent it, tell them thanks but no thanks.”

Nino sighs but places the miraculous in his back pocket “okay but if you change your mind you just have to ask.” Adrian nods with a modal’s smile and returns to his computer. Nino opens a pocket for Wayzz and leaves the office without another word.

Nathaniel takes another bite out of his giant candy bar and checks his watch. He still had five minutes left of his break. Good, he reminds himself swallowing without tasting the chocolate. The more akuma’s he could prevent from even happening the better it was for him. 

He turns a corner and the brick wall opposite him suddenly falls apart. He jumps back watching the bricks fly into the sky and reveal an akuma on the other side. His features are hidden inside a mechanical suit that’s yellow. It has a combination of construction vehicles combined into one. He laughs loudly as he turns the bricks into a giant fist. “Come out and fight Nacht Katze” he bellows slamming it together with a fist of steel pipes.

Well he got the important akuma butterfly. Nathaniel throws the half-finished candy bar into the trash and ducks into an ally.

Meanwhile Luka hears the akuma alert buzz on his phone and sighs. He takes a long sip out of his smoothie and gets up from the bench. He’s about to follow the rest of the park goers into the safe zone when suddenly a giant brick fist flies towards him. No time to move Luka protects his head.

Nacht lands in front of him with a cat like yowl. He spins his baton so fast it was a blur and ripped the fist apart. 

The akuma’s laughs and pumps his fists “about time you appeared trouble maker, the Destructionator will turn you to dust.” Nacht yawns and starts mouthing his words sarcastically. Destructionator points his brick fist at Nacht “your meddling has ruined my real estate business; no one wants a house here with you running wild.”

Nacht sighs and puts a hand over his heart “gee I never thought about how my actions would hurt your business. I’m terribly sorry” he rolls his eyes and looks the akuma over. The akumantized object must be inside the robot suit thing. 

“You will be” Destructionator cries and throws the steel fist his way. Nacht throws Luka out of the way and dodges the fist. He circles the akuma while avoiding people running for their lives. The digger claw tail attacks twice and destroys a nice water fountain. 

Man he liked this park “can you not?” Nacht calls sarcastically as he tricks the claw into getting stuck in a tree. He jumps onto the robot and starts looking for a latch to get inside. 

Hawk moth watches through the akuma’s eyes and grins. He ignores his akuma’s panic and spies Luka assisting a young mother and baby into the safe zone. “Hurt the blue boy that should throw Nacht off his game” he orders calmly. 

“Got it” Destructionator spins rapidly to launch Nacht off of him and charges Luka. Nacht rotates and lands on his feet sideways against a tree. He sees Luka throw the mother inside and get grabbed by his ankle. Nacht lets out a snarl and charges them on all fours.

“That’s right kitty, get nice and mad” Hawk moth hums tapping his cane.

Destructionator yelps as his mechanical arm is torn off and is busted beyond recognition. Nacht bent low over Luka, his claws stained with oil. Nacht growls and his ears pinned back. “Hawk moth that didn’t work” Destructionator cries as Nacht pounces on him and starts clawing at the glass. Destructionator tries to grab him with the robotic arms only for Nacht to dodge and destroy them in a blink of an eye. “OH GOD HAWK MOTH, HELP ME!” The glass shatters and Nacht grabs Destructionator by the throat.

The purple skinned akuma is thrown out of his robot and onto the grass. Nacht pounces on him and growls showing off his fangs. Destructionator closes his eyes and whimpers, this was the end. 

Nacht moves to kill when Luka’s voice breaks through the fog “Nacht stop”. Nacht peers over to him with his mouth still open. Luka was leaning on his good leg with his hands held out in front of him. “He’s not worth it” Luka says boldly taking a step towards them. “Just find the object and destroy the butterfly” he points to a darkened piece of paper sticking out of the akuma’s front pocket.

Destroy it, destroy it. Nacht’s ears twitch and his claws tighten on the akuma’s shoulders. The monster trying to take over again, Nacht gulps down air. Luka’s eyes remain on him and he uses it to ground himself. 

Luka bends down and reaches for the paper. Nacht doesn’t move as he takes it and rips it in half. The akuma takes to the sky snapping Nacht’s attention away. With speed that scares Luka Nacht grabs the akuma and uses cataclysm on it. The robot disappears and the akuma changes back into a small man with a curly moustache. 

Nacht lands low to the ground with his eyes unblinking. Luka somehow manages to keep his expression blank until Nacht runs off. He falls on his ass and takes a few shaky breaths; dealing with crazy cat men was too much stress for one dude. 

Hawk moth closes the butterfly shaped window “it’s a start but not enough; we have to go bigger, bloodier. Just you watch Nacht Katze, I will make you break” he promises then delivers an evil laugh that hasn’t aged well. He sounds like a dying frog with a sore throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man we got a lot of flashbacks in this chapter, guess that's going to be a thing in this fic.


	6. The kids aren't alright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No birds were harmed in the making of this chapter. My search history is a little wack right now I'll admit.

Chapter The kids aren’t alright  
Nacht stumbles onto his balcony. He had been more careful then his steps led on. When he releases the costume no one can see him nor have any clue he’s even there. Nathaniel falls to the ground choking and coughing. His head pounded with a headache so strong he gagged. Half of him wants to curl into a ball and wait it out. The other half wants something else, and it’s much stronger. 

“Kid” Plagg calls seeing Nathaniel’s eyes were wide and his pupil too small like he was high. The eyes dart around rapidly, not noticing the kwami. They land on a pigeon resting on the yard chair’s arm. “Kid, no” Plagg deadpans under his breath as Nathaniel grabs the bird before it could fly off. “Please stop” Plagg mumbles defeated as Nathaniel snaps its neck. Plagg sighed and sits back to let it run its course. 

Nathaniel spreads the body’s wings wide then digs his nails into the gut. Plagg in all his years still didn’t enjoy watching this, but couldn’t look away. Fascinated by the way his kitten made creation from destruction. He popped out the bird’s intestine and straightened it out. Then clawed out the birds eyes and threaded the intestine into them. He tied it up above its head like a halo. He broke the beak in two and placed them by its head like they were horns. The lungs were turned inside out and placed on the bird’s feet. The heart was left inside and the cavity was stuffed with little feathers. The big feathers were stripped off the wings and placed in a circle around it and weighed down by bodily fluids he crushed out of the liver. 

With the masterpiece finished Nathaniel’s eyes returned to normal. He leans back with his mouth open “what did I?” he can’t finish. He looks at his filthy hands and breaths rapidly. Plagg flies in with a paper towel for his hands. Nath holds it but doesn’t clean his hands, his body too shocked to move. “Why did I-why did I?”

“You spared the construction akuma, you had to destroy something” Plagg says digging in Nathaniel’s pocket for his cheese.

Nathaniel feels tears burn at the edges of his eyes and he’s disgusted. He killed akuma’s, killed the people he was supposed to save. He killed Kim and felt nothing, why was the bird any different? The bird’s mangled corpse blurs and he shoves himself back. His phone suddenly buzzes and it takes a moment for him to check it. It’s from Tom asking if he’s back yet. The blood under his fingernails smudges the screen as he types his reply. He’d be down in five minutes. 

Plagg watches Nathaniel get to his feet and climb down from the balcony to his room. He was muttering under his breath.

Plagg sighs and returns to the corpse. He commits the horror to memory against what he would prefer. He pushes the bird off the balcony and it splatters down onto the roof. Plagg’s ear twitches as Nathaniel throws a towel onto the floor and closes the trap door behind him. The kid was getting worse, Plagg knew this was going to happen but it didn’t make it any easier. 

Out of all his kittens without a ladybug Nathaniel had lasted the longest. He was an artist, he worked in a bakery. Constantly he was surrounded by works of creation. It used to be enough to keep the balance. 

Plagg wipes the blood off his paws and darts to the small fridge under the computer desk. He zips inside and grabs a slice of Camembert. He knew this would happen. This was the fate of all his kittens.

He shoves the slice in his mouth, chews the strong taste and swallows it in one gulp. Cheese wasn’t something that would last. If he didn’t eat it right away it would rot, so he had to eat it in large portions. But he couldn’t eat all the cheese in the world before it rotted. Everything rots in time; it was a law of nature. 

A tear builds in his eye and he furiously wipes it away. He had no power to stop this. Just enjoy the cheese while it lasts. 

Nathaniel had scrubbed his hands until he had small blisters on his fingertips. He puts on the apron and goes on autopilot. Ask the costumer what they want with a smile, get it for them and take their cash they owed. Speak clearly and keep the tone light and friendly. He knows this part inside and out, he can pull it off even with his mind collapsing on the inside.

The next morning he has the early as fuck shift. Nathaniel decided to have a shower before he went to work with Tom. He winced as he slowly pulled his damp shirt off and tossed it on the floor. In the dark bathroom he looked at himself in the mirror. He had two nasty bruises on his chest and he surely had two on his back as well.  
He hissed as the cold water hit him, definitely had bruises back there. He turned away from the blast to try and ease the pain. 

“I think you’re trapped in the role they made you play” Luka’s voice echo’s in his head for the thousandth time. Nathaniel nearly threw a bottle of shampoo to silence it, but he didn’t want to wake Sabine. 

When had he started playing the role of the bad guy? When had he started being the terror of Paris instead of….instead of….instead of what Nathaniel? Do you really think you were ever a hero? You never saved anyone; you only failed to stop akuma’s from hurting them. The akuma’s thought you were a challenge; the people thought you were a nuisance. The only thing that made them change was when you really fucked up. 

Remember August? That cute little boy with the huge ass head, remember fighting his akuma that one time? He was such a tiny boy, and you were cocky. You thought you could cataclysm the akuma and catch him before he fell. But you were wrong. 

Nathaniel starts slapping his head hard with his hands, anything to try and quiet the voice screaming in his head. To stop the memory that was forcing itself in. 

Nacht caught the kid a second too late. His head smacked the pavement and his body went limp. “No, no, no open your eyes kid” Nacht pleaded with the kid in his arms. August’s mom ripped him away and beat him with her purse. 

“You monster, you killed my baby!” she screams so everyone coming back after the attack can hear. Nacht is suddenly swarmed by people hitting him with rocks or cursing at him. It was the first time he ever ran on all fours to get away. He became a smaller and faster target that way. 

His first murder may have been Marc’s killer, but he was killing the ones he was supposed to save since he put on the ring. 

“You need to take it back, I can’t do this” Nacht pleads holding his hand out to Chat. They were at the grave of Ladybug, the newly created statue already decorated with a single red rose.

Chat keeps his hands in his pockets and remains quiet. His lips are the only thing Nacht can see under his hood. Nacht growls and his hands turn into fists.“I killed someone today, I failed I can’t be a super hero I can’t be your successor” he cries trying to hold back tears that threatened to fall. Chat just remains blank. “Did you hear me? You never hurt the people you were supposed to save. You were a hero.”

Chat finally gives a long sigh “then throw it away like I did. I can’t put on the ring again….not without” he pauses looking over at the statue.

Nacht grabs him and shoves him to the ground. Chat turns his face away and pulls the hood to hide it. “How dare you” he looms over him with his eyes glowing in the night. “This isn’t about Ladybug, this was never about Ladybug!” He swipes his hands down and his claws grow out. 

Chat doesn’t flinch, again has no reaction to him. Nacht’s pupils expand as it dawns on him “you don’t care about the people, you only cared about yourself and Ladybug. You’re not a hero you’re a coward!” Nacht in his anger grabs the rose, Chat’s rose to Ladybug. 

“News flash Chat, Ladybug is dead” he rips the rose to pieces and throws the remains over Chat. “And she’s never coming back” Nacht stomps away. 

Nathaniel in the present turns off the water and sees his eyes in the mirror’s reflection. He never had a shower nowadays that was warm enough to make steam. Anger boils in his gut and he uses the towel to muffle the weak yells that escape. He couldn’t risk going downstairs with that anger, not with Hawk moth able to sense emotions. 

Tom stops his humming when Nathaniel enters the room. Tom smiles and waves him in “good morning sunshine.”  
“What sunshine? It’s pitch black out there” Nathaniel jokes fixing his apron and getting to work on the dough. Tom lets out a hearty laugh and returns to his humming. He picked up a tray for the oven and walked behind Nath. He went off tune for a moment seeing a tinge of purple on Nathaniel’s neck. It was the edges of a massive bruise. Tom sighs and puts the buns in the oven.

He’s brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Nathaniel’s head hitting the floor. He drops what he was doing and rushes over to him. 

Nathaniel groaned and opened his eyes. He’s on the couch in the living room with a thin blue blanket covering him. Shit what was he doing here? He jolts up and a small hand presses on his gut. “Nathaniel you need to take it easy after fainting” Sabine orders gently. 

“I fainted?” Nathaniel lets her push him down. The look in her eye was one not to defy. 

“You’ve been unconscious for a few hours” Sabine explains satisfied that he would stay down. “The doctor said it was exhaustion” Sabine sighs and places a hand on the back of his hair. There’s a crinkle of a half melted frozen pea bag. “Your head wasn’t the only trauma he found” she announces taking a seat on her knees. Nathaniel shuffles nervously and spins the wheel of excuses in his head. Her hand moves down and rests on his shoulder “Nathaniel have you been going to street fights again?” 

The wheel of excuses clatters off its wheel. “I uh…yeah” Nathaniel decides to just go with it. He sucks in a breath and looks her in the eye. 

Sabine’s expression was stone to an outsider. But Nathaniel knew that look well and he hated it. He had hurt her with that lie. Lies were supposed to soften the blow of reality, even when reality was so absurd it sounded fake. Even if he could, would he ever tell her the truth? That he was the monster that stalked the Paris streets. That Chat Noir that killed the people he was supposed to save. 

“Nathaniel” Sabine repeats snapping Nathaniel out of his head “how many?” 

“Just the odd one or two” Nathaniel half lies on that one. If you counted getting ganged up by people dressed as a turtle and a fox as a street fight. 

Sabine sighed and took her hand away “I know you’re an adult Nathaniel but I worry about you. This isn’t a healthy way to cope with grief.”

“I’m not grieving” Nathaniel blurts a little too quickly. Sabine flinches slightly and he mentally kicks himself. 

“I know it’s hard with both Kim and officer Raincomplix gone so soon” Sabine gently holds Nathaniel’s hand. “Get some rest now, Tom and I will handle the shop today.”  
Nathaniel opens his mouth to argue but his head suddenly begins to pound. The only noise he can make is a groan. Sabine pats his head satisfied and leaves the room. 

 

“So the main symptom is painful headaches, good start let’s just make everyone who’s ever had a headache a suspect” Adrien remarks sarcastically from the phone call on speaker. Nino was on patrol in his police car. 

“You know that’s not what I meant” Wayzz calmly states from sitting in his own seat with a seat belt. “Headache’s, fainting spells, loss of muscle control around eyes and mouth, cat-like behavior, and of course increased fascination with destruction is all signs of black cat mental decay.”

“It’s hard to say how far along Nacht is” Nino says stopping at a traffic light and signaling to turn. “He did quite a number on Rena but only gave me a cut neck and sore pride.” He absentmindedly rubs at the bandage he has under his uniform collar. 

“And he spared the construction akuma yesterday, maybe he’s getting better?” Adrien adds. 

Wayzz shakes his head “I don’t think so, not unless the ladybug is activated by a proper other half can the mental decay be healed.”

“So the brain drain continues” Nino mutters and turns a corner. He spots someone up ahead on the sidewalk about eighteen years of age. He had a black and electric green hoodie with some large green headphones around his neck. He also had a backpack that was partially zipped open. Nino smirks “hey Adrian I’m going to have to call you back, I found a troublemaker.”

“Alright talk soon” Adrien replies and the call go dead. Wayzz zips out of his seat and hides both the phone and him in the glove box. 

Nino drives closer to the teen and he noticeably tries to hide his face with his hood. Nino rolls the window down with the largest smile he could muster “HEY CHRIS!”

“Go away Nino” Chris hisses continuing to walk. Nino continues to drive beside him at his walking speed.

“What you can’t say hi to your older bro?” Nino teases earning an eye roll from Chris. “Besides I’m on patrol for troublemakers, have you seen any of those around?” Nino wiggles his eyebrows with the same goofy smirk.

“Nope” Chris snaps without looking at him. “I’m on my way to school so you’re wasting your time here.” 

Nino hums unconvinced “gee I don’t know, I used to go to College Francoise.” He points with his thumb behind him “and school is that a way.” Chris huffs and gives him the evil eye through his (in Nino’s opinion) dumb fake frame glasses. “Get in the car Chris” Nino orders dropping the grin.

Chris sighs as Nino stops the car and Chris steps in. He flops onto the front seat and puts on his seat belt after Nino gives him the eye. Nino turns the car around and notices a spray paint can stick out of Chris’s backpack. “Really dude? Graffiti again.”

“It’s art man you wouldn’t understand” Chris replies shoving the spray can out of sight. Nino chuckles and Chris growls at him “don’t you get it? With rumours of Carapace and Rena rouge back I have the opportunity to spread hope in Paris.”

“Aw how noble of you” Nino lightly punches Chris’s shoulder. “But that doesn’t mean you get to skip school” he pulls up to the front of the school. 

“Ladybug was in school and she skipped all the time” Chris grumbles stepping out of the car. He lazily looks at Nino and tenses seeing Nino’s evil eye. 

“Have a good day” Nino deadpans driving off. Chris sighs loudly watching him go and enters the front doors. 

School hadn’t even started so he hasn’t skipped anything. Chris shoves his headphones in his ears as he passes students gathered around the Kim painting. Students give him waves of hello as he passes and he returns it with a quick head nod. He was far too cool for things like waving and high fiving. He doesn’t care for anyone in this stupid school, no one except…

He sees her standing with her friends in the hallway. Her long brown hair tied in beautiful pigtails. She’s dressed in her usual short purple t shirt and white jeans. And her golden eyes highlighted with glitter eye shadow. Manon Chamack had been struck with the gorgeous truck sometime around sixteen. And poor Chris had the biggest crush on her. He watches as one of the Cesaire twins tells a joke and she laughs. Damn she had a cute laugh. 

THUNK

Chris hadn’t been looking where he was going and had run face first into the principal’s office door. Manon looks at him for the first time that year giggling with her girls. “Are you okay Chris?” she asks in between giggles. 

“Yeah, fine” Chris mutters sarcastically pressing against his throbbing head. The door suddenly swings open and he’s face to face with the matted beard of their principal Mr. Damocles. Unlike Manon time had not been kind to the old man. His eyes were bloodshot and his beard was as white and frizzy as a wizards. 

“WHAT are YOU doing out of CLASS?” he screeches with his eyes twitching. He grabs Chris’s headphones and tears them off “GET GOING GO, GO.” 

“Alright, alright take it easy man” Chris throws his hands up in mock surrender. He runs to grab his headphones and check them for damage. “Crazy old bird” Chris mutters leaving with the rest of the students. 

Mr. Damocles closes the door to his office and staggers back to his desk. There are papers thrown randomly across it with coffee stains. There’s an empty container of pills collecting dust by the outdated computer. There are many more pill bottles cluttering the floor. There’s a horrible stench of old coffee and vomit in the room yet the windows remain locked shut. Most damning of all is what uncurls from the principal’s hand, an old torn picture of Marinette’s class, stained with an akuma’s influence.  
Mr. Damocles crumples the photo and slams it on the desk. “Get OUT, I won’t DO it, you’re NOT real” he cries.

“I am very real Dark Owl” Hawk moth states and the principal dry heaved. “I know how you hate Nacht Katze, for killing the students you cared so much about. I know you fear he’s coming after current students next.”

Mr. Damocles shushes him with a finger twitching by his lips “he won’t, HE would never hurt them, Nacht does not kill children.”

“Oh but he has” Hawk moth purrs into his ear. “And he’s discovered how much fun it is to rip them apart, to hear their screams and gasps for air.” Hawk moth grins feeling the man’s tattered mind crumbling with every word. “I can give you the power to take that away from him, all I ask in return is his miraculous.”

Mr. Damocles leans on his desk breathing through his teeth. Then he starts to chuckle, it builds and builds until the walls shake from the sound. Tears fall from his eyes as the akuma goop crawls over him. 

Nino and Wayzz are jamming out to Nino’s radio when it cuts off abruptly. “Akuma alert at Collage Francois, all nearby units make their way to-“  
Wayzz doesn’t hear that last part because Nino does a sharp U-turn that makes the tires screech on the empty street. He’s thrown into the back with a squeak. 

Nino cuts the engine and a bright green flash exits out the cars windows. He has it parked out of view as he climbs out and races towards the school gun at the ready. The doors to the front are jammed. Carapace raises his shield and on the third tackle bursts though. 

He points the gun in front of him and moves it with his eyes surveying the room. The windows show bright sun outside but it doesn’t filter though. The place looks as dark and empty as it does at night. Carapace slowly exhaled and steps into the middle of the room. 

“You make too much noise” Nacht purred in his ear. Carapace swings round and Nacht catches the gun hand “silly turtle, you must be quiet on a hunt.” Nacht puts a claw to his lips with a playful look in his eyes.

Carapace’s eyes grow wide, he had literally just heard the police call. How was Nacht already here? It couldn’t be….was Nacht a cop? Carapace swallows hoping his suspicions were wrong. 

“This isn’t a hunt, this is an akuma attack” Carapace hisses.

“There’s a difference?” Nacht strokes the barrel of the gun with his thumb. “Are you going to shoot me officer?” He blinks innocently and presses the gun against his chest. 

“Not yet” Carapace scowls and lowers the gun “akuma first.” He scowls at Nacht’s little satisfied smirk. 

“Smart turtle” Nacht purrs moving Carapace’s hand to put the gun back in its holder. He drags a claw up Carapace’s arm and enjoys watching him flinch when Nacht teased the miraculous. “Don’t slow me down now.” He purrs with his eyes flashing. 

Nacht slides past him quickly and quietly. Carapace shivers involuntarily and watches him jump to the second floor without a sound. “Remember we don’t kill the akuma, they’re a victim in this” Carapace warns climbing up the stairs. 

If Nacht heard him he doesn’t show it. He’s stopped in front of a smashed akuma alarm. Carapace gets closer to see Nacht hold up a fluffy gray feather. 

“The akuma has been naughty” Nacht announces making Carapace look up. Nacht jumps onto the railing and walks on it easily down to the classrooms. Carapace moves to follow only for his boot to step in a puddle. He dares to look down to see a black puddle in his limited night vision. It trailed down the hall like the victim had been dragged into a particular classroom.

Nacht stares up at the akuma’s work. It was a class of teens sitting quietly at their desks. Their bodies were limp and lifeless. Nacht stops by one girl sitting where Marinette used to sit. Her black hair was tied into pigtails with string. Her eyes clawed out and her lower jaw removed. His heartbeat increases and a high pitched sound echo are in his ear. 

“Oh fuck, poor kid” Carapace whispers coming up next to Nacht. He checks her for a pulse while Nacht’s claws dig into his hands.

His heart moves to his head and pounds loudly. His breathing is too loud to his ears as his eye twitches around the room. There’s a tall jock looking boy with his face on the desk next to a shorter boy in glasses. There’s a blonde girl in a ponytail next to a girl with orange hair and a blond haired boy at the front sitting by himself. Finally there’s a brown haired girl with her eye holes staring at him. Even in the darkness he can see the faint scar under her chin that had almost been torn off. All of them have their jaws broken and their eyes dug out.

He didn’t know the other kids but he knew one, Etta.

“Nacht, are you okay?” Carapace puts his hand on Nacht’s shoulder. The way Nacht’s eyes were twitching made it look like he was having a seizure of some kind. One of Nacht’s eyes stops on him and the hairs rise on the back of his neck. 

A scream rips from the hallways making both of them jump. They start running towards the sound, Nacht on all fours. Carapace recognizes the voice instantly “CHRIS!”

The sound is coming from the locker room. Carapace spots Chris lying in a pool of his own blood. Carapace rushes to his side and cradles him in his arms. Chris moans and moves his hand revealing two deep gashes on his chest. Chris looks at Carapace and his eyes starts to close. Carapace shakes him “stay with us Chris, help is on the way.” 

“WHO’S coming?” A voice squawks from above. Carapace looks up to see the akuma crouched on top of the lockers. His gray feathered costume matted with blood and sharp bloody talons on his feet. He also had a beak and eyes that were far too large for a human. He starts a croaking like laugh and Carapace readies his shield. 

Nacht jumps onto the lockers while Dark owl is distracted by Carapace. Dark owl’s head suddenly turns like he had no neck towards Nacht. “You FAILED Nacht; you’ll never KILL these children because I killed them FIRST!”

Dark Owl begins to laugh again. The high pitched sound becomes louder drowning it out. One eye starts twitching and lands on a group of students cowered together. “Get…them out of…here” words are hard to form and feel heavy on his tongue. He doesn’t know if Carapace hears him or not. 

Dark Owl swoops down to attack and Carapace activates shell-ter to push him back. As result he’s trapped on the other side of the room with Nacht pouncing in with him. Carapace scoops up Chris and moves to the students “come on guys let’s move!” 

The students who weren’t seriously hurt help the injured ones limp out of the locker room. The only one who pauses is Ella, frozen in horror watching the fight between Nacht and Dark Owl. Nacht snaps Dark Owl’s elbow and shatters the bones in his arm. 

“Move, move” Carapace orders and pushes her towards the door with his leg. Ella has one last glance at Nacht forcing Dark Owl’s head into a locker.

The locker slams against Dark Owl’s head the entire time they’re escaping. 

Carapace hands Chris’s limp body to the EMT’s and runs back inside alongside three other cops. They charge into the locker room with Carapace out front. They stop dead in their tracks at the sight of the body. 

Dark Owl’s head had been shattered. Its bloody chunky remains splattered inside the locker and dripping out onto the floor. His arms were bent at horrible angles and his legs were snapped the same way. Nacht had tried painting something with the blood on the wall. But apparently had gotten frustrated and clawed the wall up instead.

Nacht was no-where to be found. 

“Did anyone see Nacht leave?” Carapace asks the newest chief officer. It was an older man with cold black eyes. He shakes his head and continues on with his job. Carapace tries not to think that maybe Nacht didn’t escape, that he just blended in with his fellow officers. A camera is shoved into his face and a reporter starts asking him questions. It’s not Alya so he doesn’t bother trying to smile. 

Tikki doesn’t have the ability to throw up, but she’s as close as she can get. She sits silently on Gabriel’s knee while Gabriel stares out the butterfly window in his lair. “Children have always been Nacht’s weakness; it must have pushed him off the edge to see them slaughtered.” Gabriel pets Tikki with one finger and she whimpers “Tikki is it time?”

Tikki closes her eyes and concentrates. She opens them and shakes her head “no, not yet.”

“WHAT!” Gabriel snaps standing up and causing Tikki to fall to the ground. “What else do I possibly need to do?” 

“I don’t know” Tikki cries protecting her head with her nubs. When no hit comes she peeks out to see him staring at the window like it called to him an emotion, hot and burning, angry and seething. 

“I know what to do” He brings out the butterfly miraculous from a box in his pocket. He throws the box to the ground almost hitting Tikki. “He’s still stressed; all I have to do is push him over the edge. Ignite the flames.” 

With a flash Hawk moth transforms and summons another butterfly to his hand. Tikki is forced back into her miraculous with nothing but the horrible sight of Hawk moth’s smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what I gathered from Time tagger is that Chris grows up to be an ass, so I wrote him as such.  
> Sorry this chapter isn't as big as the others, but the next ones likely going to make up for that. Stay tuned :D


	7. City of ashes

Chapter 7 City of ashes  
Hawk moth’s breath hitched as he watched the butterfly escape out the window. He was so close, he could taste it. The words to manipulate the victim wet his tongue. The pain and loss was great in this one, they would surely be so powerful they would cause Nacht Katze to break.

Nathaniel collapses to his knees safe within his own room. He grabs the edge of a table coughing violently. He failed, he failed to protect them. He had one promise left and it was destroyed. Everything was destroyed, he destroyed everything.

“Kid, kid look at me” Plagg orders and grabs the sides of Nathaniel’s face. Plagg can see Nathaniel’s eyes were wide and the iris grew and shrank rapidly. Plagg gulped and his head spun with what to do. He didn’t have any cheese left so that was out. What did he have? Plagg turns his head scanning the ground and Nathaniel catches sight of the akuma pulling through the window. 

Plagg lets go of his chin and Nathaniel stares at the akuma blankly. Plagg zips back up with a shoestring in his paws “here can you tie a knot in this?”

“Destroy” Nathaniel says in a monotone. 

“No not destroy” Plagg shoves the string in his face forcefully “we create.”

Nathaniel looks past Plagg and his head bobs like it was too heavy. “Destroy, destroy…” the akuma swoops down and Nathaniel swipes wildly at it. He hits Plagg instead and the kwami crashes into a pile of pillows. 

An ugly gurgle emerges from Nathaniel’s throat and Plagg struggles to crawl out from the pillows. There’s a splash of a chunky liquid as Plagg phases through it to see a black substance on the floor and clinging to Nathaniel’s mouth like melted cheese. 

The akuma circles over his head confused. The emotions from the target didn’t make any sense, had they disappeared and been replaced? Its target hisses and slashes at it with the strange black gunk under his fingernails. The akuma cuts its losses and escapes out the window. 

Nathaniel tries to stand only to be hit by another wave of black vomit. It hits the desk and the wood starts to rot and decay. Plagg’s ears fall, there was nothing he could do now.  
Plagg watches as more puke spills from Nathaniel’s mouth. It dripped onto his chin and began to rot the skin. “I’m so sorry kid” he mutters as Nathaniel looks at him desperately. Nathaniel eyes were switching between normal and cat like. 

“Destroy des-” Nathaniel cuts off to throw up more of the black tar. His vision is zooming in and out. He cries out in pain and fangs are visibly growing from his rotted gums. His head pounded worse than it ever had before. Nathaniel roars and slams his head against the legs of his desk. It hurts so badly. His twitching eye rests on Plagg watching him blankly.

His body twitches like it was having a seizure. “Plagg, Plagg” Nathaniel begs as his cheeks start to rot from holding in more vomit. His eyes are drawn away from the silent kwami to his ring. The normally grey ring was black with a pus coloured cat paw. He throws up again and the floor creaks from all the abuse.

What’s happening? Nathaniel falls against the desk clawing at his head. Blood mixes with the black gunk and fills the room with a horrible smell of decay. He slides to the floor and lets out a wail. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt!

Sabine is about to knock on the trapdoor to see if Nathaniel was done with his break when she hears him scream. All else drops and she pushes the door open. She gasps seeing the black vomit all over the room. She had never had the pleasure of seeing an akuma form but she knew from stories that it involved the victims getting covered in a black gunk. 

It hurts, it hurts. Nathaniel claws at his head over and over until someone grabs his wrists. “Nathaniel stop you’re bleeding.” Sabine orders making Nathaniel look at her.

She looks so scared. Who was she? Her words didn’t make any sense, they were garbled and quiet. She releases one wrist to touch the side of his face. He leans into it, it made him feel safe. 

“Mom…” he whimpers and she forces a smile though unshed tears.

“I’m here baby, I’m here” Sabine coos wiping blood from his brow and looking around the room for the akumantized object. 

Nathanial’s head twitches and he jerkily looks around his room. More furniture and flooring was breaking from the goo rotting it away. “Destroy…destroy, destroy” he starts to chant under his breath.

“Destroy what?” Sabine cries desperate to find the object. Everything in the room was black and rotting. Nothing stood out as the object to free him. 

He grabs her arms “DESTROY!” He throws her down the trapdoor and she hits the second floor hard. 

He hurt, hurt her, he had get away. The destruction around him threatens to collapse under his weight. Nathaniel gains control of his eyes long enough to find Plagg almost camouflaged in the room. 

Plagg can-Plagg can make get away. 

“Pl-agg claws out” 

Plagg gasps and grabs hold of a blanket as the ring starts to suck him in. “Kid NO! That will only make it WORSE!!” 

He loses his grip and gets absorbed into the ring. Nathaniel gags on more vomit as the black costume covers him. He screams and grabs his head tearing at his hair and face. He slashes wildly at the desk and it shatters to firewood. He destroyed it, destroy, destroy. Destroy more, Nacht stops himself and claws his head. No destroy, get away. Destroy away from here. He breaks the doors to the balcony and runs off in a random direction. 

“Lila Rossi”

Lila looks up from her cup of tea and sandwich at a café shop. Three men are standing before her in fancy blue suits “may we have a word?”

“Uh of course” Lila says standing from her chair. The largest man turns his back and the other two walk behind Lila. They trap her in a triangle of sorts. Lila looks back sharply  
“wait, my purse!”

The two men look back to the chair and Lila kicks one out of alinement. She runs towards the open window and leaps out into the streets.

Lila grits her teeth picking up speed, the men shortly behind her. Panic flashes on her face as she turns a corner. She knew going back to Paris was a bad idea, especially when you’ve committed tax fraud since forever. By chance she looks up into the sky and sees an akuma butterfly flying away from the bakery

“Now’s my chance” Lila cries grabbing her hat off her head. An akuma might be her only chance to avoid being arrested. She needed that butterfly. She throws the hat like a Frisbee and it hits the butterfly dead on.

The men come to a stop seeing Lila put the blackened hat on her head. She grins at them and her scar lights up like there was lava underneath it. “Get ready to feel my wrath Paris” she cries and explodes into a fireball.

Tom ushers some costumers into the panic room at the back of the bakery. He runs up to the front to see the flames of the attacking akuma. He puts on a pair of oven mitts to lock the door when Sabine runs past him. “Sabine what are you-” 

“Nathaniel’s hurt and I’m going after him.” Sabine snatches the oven mitts from his hands and pulls the doorknob.

Tom grabs her arm before she can fly out the front door. “Sabine stay inside there’s an akuma out there” he cries right as flames pass by the window. 

“Nathaniel is the akuma” Sabine voice cracks. “I can’t lose another child Tom I can’t!” 

Tom stops and they stare at each other. Another explosion goes off outside and Tom swallows dryly “you’re not going out there.” He releases her hand and steps behind the corner. Sabine is ready to shout when he comes back out with a fire extinguisher in hand “not without me.”

 

“How the hell am I going to tell Alya?” Nino asks pacing back and forth in the men’s restroom. Wayzz sat like he was meditating on the sink. They were at the nearest Paris hospital where Chris was getting stitches for his wound. Ella was waiting for them back in one of the rooms. After the shock had worn off she had latched onto her brother in law like he was the only lifeboat in the dark ocean that had become her world. It had taken Manon to get her off so Nino could escape to the bathroom.

“It’s best you tell her before the media does.” Wayzz advises peeking one eye open. Nino looks at him helplessly and Wayzz sighs. “Don’t torture yourself on what if’s, this reality is not desirable but it is the one we live in.”

“I can’t help it” Nino admits leaning against the counter. “If I hadn’t found Chris and brought him to school, if I had gotten there sooner…” He trails off and sighs loudly. “Sorry I-” he takes off his glasses and pushes against his eyelids. 

“If the farmer dwells on one stormy day his crops will starve” Wayzz flies over to him and puts a nub on Nino’s shoulder. “Learn and move on.”

Nino smiles weakly “are you sure you’re the kwami of protection and not wisdom?”

“You learn quite a lot when you live as long as I have” Wayzz brags with a small smile. Suddenly Nino’s phone dings with an akuma alert. 

“I’LL BURN THIS CITY TO THE GROUND!” The akuma shouts and shoots a fireball into an empty tea shop. The explosion turns the humble shop into mere firewood. It blows the smoke surrounding her away to reveal her new look. Her body was black like charred lava with glowing streaks around her body and face. Her hair blew around like a combination of lava strings and smoke. Her eyes were glowing orange and the only clothing she wore was a thorny Greek style crown on her head. 

Her eyes widen in delight as they spot a trapdoor hidden under the shop. She floats over to it and can hear the muffled whimpers of people hidden inside. “Come on out” she teases and knocks on the wood “don’t be afraid of a little suntan!” She creates a large fire ball above her head.

A shield smashes into her stomach and throws her off balance. The fire ball fizzles out at her feet. The shield bounces back to Carapace who puts it on his arm and charges. The akuma gets up and pushes against the shield. She snarls and her hair sprays out like a frilled neck lizard. It creates a fire blast that shoots Carapace into the opposite wall. He slides down and lands on his butt with a grunt.

“I am Smoulder and I will be the one to bring Hawk moth to victory!” Smoulder roars and her hair creates a wave of hot energy that throws cars aside.

“Why the hell are you naked?” Carapace throws a hand up sarcastically. Smoulder looks down as if this is the first time she’s noticed. 

He climbs to his feet and puts one hand on the gun hidden in his belt. He needed to save the bullets for the butterfly. And with the amount of destruction this akuma had already caused he needed to find that butterfly quick.

The butterfly mask flickers on Smoulder’s face. “If you can retrieve his and Nacht’s miraculous I will allow you to keep the turtle.” Hawk moth offers with a cruel smile.

Smoulder grins and smoke hisses from the sides of her mouth. “His power will be mine!” She throws her arms forward and blasts a fire beam. Carapace blocks it with his shield and his feet start to skid back. 

Smoulder laughs doing a model walk of sorts as she pushes Carapace down the road. His shield starts to heat up around the edges and he grunts falling to one knee. Her laugh switches to a scream when a powerful stream of water hits her from the side. She flies into the side of a car and Carapace nods in thanks towards the firefighters. 

The moment is short lived when a fire ball smashes into the side of the truck. Smoulder roars back on her feet. Her hair springs out and the water around her bursts into steam. Carapace isn’t fast enough to stop her from launching towards the truck and destroying it in a dramatic display.

Through the steam her eyes glow dangerously at him. Carapace tenses and hears a buzz in his ear. He turns tail and runs the other way as Smoulder gives chase. Carapace ducks behind an overturned car and flinches when Smoulder randomly blasts a bus. 

Carapace clicks his earpiece “Pizza hut what can I get for you?”

“Hilarious Carapace” Chloe deadpans on the other end. “I need you at the hive now. Pollen senses that the mental decay has turned physical. We need to find Nacht.”

A mailbox turned into a fire ball is thrown over Carapace’s head. “I know you’re hiding there, come out and fight coward!”

“Unless physical decay involves fire we got another problem here.” He winces as Smoulder hits the car and the smell of melting rubber assaults his nose.

In her messy apartment Chloe stops in her tracks. “Another akuma, great just perfect” she casts a pleading look to Pollen who can only stare helpless back. Chloe takes a breath “can you handle the akuma on your own?”

“Oh yeah piece of cake.” Carapace stands and swings right as Smoulder is close and gets her in the teeth. “I’ll get to you as soon as I get rid of this cranky candle.”

“Right” Chloe ends the call and nervously paces the room. “Okay I can’t bring Alya, I can’t go alone, I need someone to back me up.” She drops to her knees and digs through a pile of dirty laundry to reveal the miracle box. 

She grabs what she needs and Pollen hands her the keys as she walks by. “Let’s do this my queen.” 

Adrian is in the middle of his lunchtime masterpiece. Four pieces of bread, five different types of cheese, three different meats and one slice of lettuce for the daily veggie. He squishes the sandwich down and opens his mouth to chow down. 

Someone pounds on the door loudly. Adrien sighs and puts his sandwich down to answer it. He’s prepared to face his landlord or maybe the kid next door that sells cookies. He’s not ready for Chloe to grab him by the shirt and yank him outside.

“Move it Adrien, we don’t have much time.” Chloe snaps and pulls Adrien to the staircase. She drags him down the flight of stairs and he struggles not to fall on his face.  
Adrien digs in his heels before she can take him down the second flight. “Chloe, what the heck are you-” 

“Walk and talk Adrien” Chloe releases his shirt and grabs his arm. She’s a lot stronger then she looks and easily forces him to keep moving. “I need back up and the others aren’t available.”

“What-what are you talking about?” Adrien yelps as she pulls him outside the building and towards a yellow motorcycle. 

She stops by the bike and hands him a green motorcycle helmet. “Carapace is busy, Rena is out of service, I can’t find Pegasus, and King monkey is dead.” She pulls out her own golden helmet with cute little bee’s on the sides. 

“What-I don’t” Adrien squeaks like a skittish mouse. 

Chloe rolls her eyes and shoves the helmet on Adrien’s head. “Look, I asked nicely the first time but now I’m ordering you. You are getting back in the game Chat Noir.”

It’s hard to see though the helmet just how pale Adrien’s face had become. “How did you?”

“I’m the new guardian, I find out these things.” Chloe explains lifting her leg over the motorcycle. She puts the helmet on and the bees on the sides light up.

Adrien tilted his head to the side “you’re not even surprised?”

Chloe huffs and puts her hands on the sides of her helmet. “Oh my god Chat Noir was an idiot this whole time. I never would have guessed.” The sarcasm is so thick Adrien feels the physical slap. She jabs the seat behind her with her finger. “Now move it before half the city is destroyed.” 

Adrien yanks off his helmet with the best glare he can muster. “I’m not fighting akuma’s again Chloe I can’t.” His voice cracks at the end and the glare softens to a pathetic plead.  
“We aren’t going after the akuma. We’re saving your kitten before he kills himself and destroys the ring.” Chloe states and rumbles the engine. “Now get on and I’ll explain on the way.” 

Adrien is known for being shit at reading people and situations. But even he can tell there’s no arguing out of this. He puts on his helmet and sits behind her. She guns the engine and Adrien holds onto her waist for dear life. 

 

Luka looks out his window at the growing smoke from part of Paris. Faintly he can hear the sounds of police and firetruck sirens from that area. He takes a step back and runs a hand though his hair. “So I don’t really have a choice here do I?” he asks turning to the little red kwami floating behind him.

“Of course you do” Tikki responds trying to sound positive. Her smile drops and she fiddles with her nubs. “It’s just if you don’t Hawk moth’s akuma could destroy all of Paris. Countless people would die.”

“And if I do I consent to being Hawk moth’s servant. A villain under his control” Luka looks at the box in his hands. The ladybug earrings were contained within a silver box with a butterfly imprint. The earrings looked a tad off, a smidge of purple on what should be plain black. 

“I don’t know how much influence he would have on you. But he wants that ring more than anything.” Tikki winces as another explosion destroys an entire building. She and Luka look out at the chaos. “He’ll do whatever it takes.

Luka removes his tiny silver earrings and inserts the miraculous ones. “Then the only thing I can do is try to resist him as long as I can. Tikki nods and sticks her chest out bravely. 

When Marinette said the words there was an air of excitement and hope. But Luka doesn’t hold that flame, he’s as bleak as the clouds above. “Tikki spots on.”

Tikki is absorbed into the earrings and changes them from black to red with black spots. There’s a machine like hum and a butterfly silhouette emerges on top of it. Luka would be damned if the presence of Hawk moth was going to wreck his transformation sequence. A yo-yo appears in his hand with a flick of his wrist. He pulls some of the string out and plays it like a guitar string. The string glows and echo’s towards his nails with a red light. He drops the yo-yo and spins it around his body. It covers him in a suit with a black bottom and a red top with several black spots. 

Luka clips the yo-yo to his belt and runs his hands though his hair. It changes his hair completely black. He crosses his hands making a shadow puppet of a bird or butterfly to create the solid black mask. 

The fabric makes him feel exposed and trapped. That feeling materialises itself in a gigantic cape that’s split down the middle like a ladybug’s wings, wings to hide his body from the world. He’s tempted to reuse his old pose from the days of Ladybug but decides against it. Instead he poses with his back to the world and his head bowed low.

The rush of power didn’t feel right, like it didn’t belong to him. It only gets worse when his ear is invaded by a familiar velvety voice. “Mister Bug, so glad to see you accepted.”

Luka winces from both hearing that awful voice again and that name. “I don’t even get to pick my name?” He grumbles plucking his yo-yo off his belt.

“Do you have a preferred name?” Hawk moth asks as another explosion rocks the city.

“Yes I do” Luka growls. He throws the yo-yo just like how he watched Marinette do it ten years ago.

 

Alya’s feet pound the ground as she races past burning buildings. She climbs over a pile of broken road and gasps for breath. 

Trixx pops out from her fanny pack with his face as red as the flames. “You were supposed to be taking it easy today; this is not taking it easy!”

“My husband is fighting this akuma alone, I have to help.” Alya snaps ducking under a telephone pole that was resting on two cars. 

“Your husband has a miraculous” Trixx reminds her and she ducks from a throwaway fire ball hitting the building beside her.

“So do I but you won’t let me transform” Alya uncovers Trixx and continues her jog into the smoke. 

“Well excuse me for caring about the safety of junior!” Trixx yells and coughs from the smoke. There’s a loud scream nearby that startles them both. Alya looks up just in time to see Carapace thrown into the Bourgeois hotel with such force half of it collapses to the ground. 

“CARAPACE” Alya shrieks as the building erupts into flames. Suddenly a fire ball blazes past her and she’s thrown on her side. 

The smoke moves away and Smoulder descends from the sky. Her bare feet gently touch the ground and the concrete melts. She wears a smirk as she walks towards Alya trying to crawl away. “My, my today’s my lucky day.” Smoulder purrs cornering Alya against a mangled car. Smoulder slams her hand curved into a claw onto the cars door. Alya whimpers as the claws melt into the metal and Smoulder drags her hand down. 

“Do you have any idea how rude it is to leave someone to the bill?” Smoulder growls leaning into Alya’s face. 

A whistle draws Smoulder back. “Hey ugly pick on someone your own size.” To both Alya and Smoulder’s surprise Rena Rouge flies above them wielding her flute. 

The butterfly mask glows on her face and she grins. “Hers I want hers!” Smoulder rockets off after Rena leaving Alya in the ash. 

Alya gasps as Trixx phases out of her stomach. “Come on that illusion won’t last forever.” Alya can only blankly nod and scramble to her feet. 

Alya bravely charges into the burning building. Her shoes kick up dust as she finds the narrow metal staircase still mostly intact. It creaks as she runs up it and enters the floor Carapace was thrown in. Flames reflect off her glasses and she shoves her shirt against her mouth. She stops in front of a green hand with the body crushed under mounds of concrete and furniture. 

She pushes a desk aside and Trixx helps lift a large slab of wood. Underneath they find Carapace’s head gasping for breath. He blinks up at her “Alya, why aren’t you transformed?”

“Complications” Trixx answers and lifts a small rock off his head. “Can you move?”

Carapace grunts and his head wiggle a little bit “no just a little of my head.”

Alya moves to the side to start pushing the largest concrete slab. There’s an explosion nearby and a scream of rage from Smoulder. 

Carapace’s eyes widen. “Alya you need to get out of here.”

Another explosion from much closer knocks Alya’s feet from underneath her. She catches herself with her hands. “I’m not leaving.” She stubbornly starts pulling smaller rocks and wood off on her knees.

“Alya this is not a suggestion. YOU NEED TO LEAVE, NOW!” Carapace uses his rare loud voice that rattles the unstable building. 

“I’m not leaving our baby without a father!” Alya screams right back.

Carapace freezes as Alya continues digging him out. “WHAT?” 

The graveyard is such a peaceful place in the daytime. There are flowers both real and fake everywhere. A cool autumn breeze gently pushes the first few leaves that had fallen from the trees. And like all peace it is destroyed by the Nacht terror landing in the middle. Nacht’s fangs were exposed from his lips rotting away. His tongue was black and his skin had green patches. Nacht choked on more liquid spilling from his mouth and nose. It slid to the ground and rapidly dissolved the grass and dirt. 

“Des-troy, des-troy” Nacht chants through the gargles of tar. He pounces onto a gravestone and shatters it like it was made from cardboard. He needed more, destroy more, more! 

Flowers are ripped to shreds, gravestones are broken to dust, and even the gardener shed isn’t spared. Nacht stumbles out of the splinters and his twitching eye spies the Ladybug statue. 

Ladybug, NO fake Ladybug, destroy, destroy IT! 

Chloe pulls the bike to a stop right outside Paris cemetery. She’s off the bike and ready to go while Adrian is still trying to peel his legs off the sides. Pollen flies out from Chloe’s jacket “he’s here my queen I sense his miraculous nearby.”

“Good. Perhaps he has enough sense left to get away from living people” Chloe says and grabs a small box out from her pocket. She shoves it into Adrien’s hands with enough force she almost knocks him over. 

Adrien shakes his head “Chloe I can’t-” 

“This is not up for debate Adrien” Chloe cuts him off. “You had a choice with Barkk but now you’re going to use Sass for my backup.” 

“Why couldn’t you get Viperion to do this? Oh great guardian” Adrien mocks the name and Chloe’s face grows red with frustration. 

“I couldn’t find him” Chloe hisses through her teeth. “Instead I found you, you lucky bastard” she jabs him in the chest four times. “Now quit your bitching and suit up. I need second chance in case his mind is too gone for subjection voice to work.”

Second chance…Adrien’s eyes stare blankly at the box. What if he had the snake miraculous that night…if the team hadn’t split up…if Viperion had been there?

Adrien’s breathing increases and his hand starts to shake. What about the Rabbit miraculous? If they still had it at that time, could they have stopped Ladybug from ever falling? 

“There he is” Chloe cries and Adrien looks up to see his kitten. Nacht has his claws dug into the Ladybug statue’s shoulders and is kicking at the torso. The statue’s weak legs cracks and both of them fall to the ground. 

Fall 

Fall

He can’t breathe, he can’t breathe. Adrien grabs at his throat; his nails cutting into the skin.

“Transform now I’m going in” she orders and takes off her jacket. Her white tank top revealed the tattoos she had on her arms. There was a fox tail wrapped around her left elbow, a turtle shell on her left shoulder and a ladybug on her right wrist.

Adrian removes a hand from his throat and takes a few breaths. The baton wasn’t there, the wound had healed. He was fine. He could do this. Adrian grips the top of the box and his hands tremble slightly. 

The snake was much like the cat to him. They were both stained with the memory of Ladybug. With her bright eyes seeing him transform, her small smile as she teased him as Snake Noir. The linger of a kiss on his cheek as they said good bye for the last time.

Pollen places her nub on Adrian’s hands snapping him back to reality. “You don’t have to wear it hon, just help my queen any way you can.” She points to Chloe now carefully stepping towards Nacht. 

“Nacht, listen to me. I know you’re scared” Chloe started and struggles to keep eye contact with Nacht. His pupil kept bouncing around in random directions. 

Nacht arches his back and hisses at Chloe. Or at least tried to, the liquid in his lungs turned it into a gargle. 

“Nacht I need you to trust me” Chloe orders slowly and softly. She wraps her hand in her jacket and reaches for his ringed hand. Nacht stares at her blankly but doesn’t move. “Just stay still, I’m going to help you.” 

Nacht’s eyes are growing foggy when they land on Chloe’s arms. On the cute black and red ladybug on her pale skin

“DESTROY!” Nacht plunged his fangs into Chloe’s wrist. Chloe screams and pulls back by instinct. Blood slithers down the open wound.

“POLLEN” Chloe cries and Pollen shoots toward him stinger at the ready. Nacht reacts and catches Pollen out of the air. He grasps her in his claw and slams her against the earth. 

Adrien drops the box in his haste to get between Chloe and Nacht. One hand grabs Nacht’s hair and the other his chin to pry Nacht’s mouth open.

There’s a loud crack of bone and Chloe pulls her hand free. Only to watch in horror as the hand becomes black and skeletal. Chloe grabs her arm and the movement causes the hand to slide right off with a sickening crack.

Nacht growls at Adrien and releases Pollen to swipe at him. Pollen dodges drips of black goo and flies over to Chloe. 

Nacht pulls free from Adrien’s grasp leaving him gripping a clump of red hair. “DESTROY” Nacht tackles Adrien and throws him to the ground. Adrian closes his eyes waiting for the cold sharp teeth to end it. 

When no bite comes Adrien opens his eyes to see Nacht gasping for air. A man had placed a round object on Nacht’s chest. Adrian’s voice catches in his throat, it was a yo-yo. 

“It can’t be” he hears Chloe mutter as the man tucks some of Nacht’s hair behind his human ear. Nacht sits dazed as his skin starts to heal. It’s much slower than the usual cure but no less miraculous. His lips reform, his tongue turns pink, and ring returns to green and black. His eyes stop twitching and focus on the man now holding his chin.

No wonder Chat has such an obsession with his Ladybug. The man in front of Nacht was the most beautiful thing Nacht had ever seen. His hand was warm and soft, Nacht sighs inhaling the faint scent of cinnamon. 

The man chuckles at Nacht’s slightly open jaw. “What’s the matter kitty? Ladybug got your tongue?”

An explosion snaps Nacht out of his daze. His eyes harden and he jerks back to his feet. He blinks confused at the scene in front of him. Adrien on the ground, Chloe curled on her knees missing a hand, and the stranger cloaked in red and black. Nacht grabs his baton and flicks it to fighting length. 

“Are you going to demand my miraculous?” Nacht growls and the stranger chuckled.

“I’m going to lend you a hand before I ask for your hand.” The stranger steps towards him and bows playfully. “The name is Lord Beetle. I’m the partner you’ve long been seeking.” 

“Yeah, sure” Nacht deadpans looking past Lord to the city. The flames had overtaken the Eiffel tower and most of the city. The akuma was on a mindless rampage with nothing but destruction as her goal.

Nacht huffs and walks past Lord. Their eyes lock for a moment and Nacht’s narrow. “Get in my way and I’ll tear you apart.” 

“Wouldn’t dream of it kitten.” Lord teases and spins his yo-yo. Nacht uses his baton to launch off towards the flames and Lord is soon after.

Chloe leans back against a gravestone and stares blankly at the sky. Her right hand gone and her wig slightly off centre. Pollen comes out of her hiding spot to offer comfort but Chloe can’t hear her. There’s too much sound. All of it coming together into one loud thumps pounding at her skull.

Nacht lands on the empty city streets and glares past the smoke. Not too far away he sees an explosion and a figure floating in the air. An attention seeker if looks are anything to go by. 

“So what’s the plan Chaton?” Lord chirps beside him. Nacht gives him a cold side eye and Lord grins. “Right that doesn’t quite fit you either. Give me time I’ll find the right nickname for you.” 

“Why don’t you give me a lucky charm instead?” Nacht hisses and points the baton at Lord’s throat. 

Lord smirks and pushes it away “as you wish lucky charm.” Unlike how Ladybug would throw her yo-yo in the air while yelling the phrase Lord simply flicks his wrist and mutters it. The yo-yo drops out a bright red mop. Lord stares at it blankly “yeah I got nothing.”

“A ladybug without a brain, perfect” Nacht mutters sarcastically. He snatches the mop from Lord’s hands and looks it over. He rips off the wooden part and shoves it towards Lord. “Here you can shove this part up your ass.” 

“Gee thanks” Lord grumbles as Nacht puts the mop head under his arm and runs off into the smoke. 

Tom grips Sabine’s head as they run blindly through the smoke. “We have to take shelter!” He yells over the distant explosions of the akuma. 

Sabine coughs and looks back at him with red eyes. “If I could just find Nathaniel I-” A loud groan of metal cuts her off. She looks up and gasps at the window washers lift falling towards them. “TOM, LOOK OUT!” 

Tom drops the fire extinguisher and throws himself on top of her. Tom’s massive frame covers her easily and the metal crashes around them. Tom braces for it to pierce him when someone lands beside them. Nacht uses his baton to knock the metal away and glares at the couple. 

Nacht growls and grabs the fire extinguisher. He locks eyes with Sabine’s wide ones. He bends low and roars like a feral cat. Sabine whimpers and Tom grabs Sabine’s hand to run away from the chaos. Nacht pats his hair back and starts tying the mop head to the top of the extinguisher.

“You shift though many masks” Lord purred suddenly beside him. Nacht jumps and his hair spring up in alarm. No one has snuck up on him in years. Lord circles around him with a smirk. “I wonder which one is the real one.”

“I thought I told you to shove that stick up your ass.” Nacht growls and finishes tying the mop.

Lord shrugs and follows after Nacht. His cape picks up on the wind they create as they vanish into the smoke. 

Carapace coughs as the smoke grows thicker. “Alya please get out of here” he croaks still hearing her digging at the bricks and concrete keeping him pinned. He blinks tears away despite to see her though the smoke. He can’t lose her like this, trapped and unable to save her. 

The smoke suddenly clears under Smoulder’s power and she grins at the two. She’s outside on the hotels buildings balcony and melting the glass door. “There you are” her hands light up with two small fireballs.

Nacht suddenly appears creeping on the balcony’s railing. His feet and hands are silent as he sneaks behind Smoulder and spits on her cheek. It sizzles and she turns in time to watch him pounce into the smoke below. Smoulder shoots after him having forgotten about Alya and Carapace. 

Smoulder lands in the middle of the street surrounded by smoke of her own making. Nacht makes a clicking sound and she throws a fireball in that direction. It misses its target and hits a random car.

“ENOUGH PLAYING” Smoulder throws her arms out and blasts fire in all directions. It launches a head of red towards her and she fires at it. The fire extinguisher explodes and covers her in its gunk. 

She falls to the ground in surprise and the real Nacht lands in front of her. Her eyes widen in fear at the flick of his wrist that summons the claws. He reaches down and grabs the thorny crown off from her head. The crown changes back into the sun hat after he rips it in two. 

The akuma butterfly takes to the sky and Smoulder turns back into Lila. Nacht scowls at the butterfly as it flies into the air.

Alya wipes tears from her face and bows her forehead against Carapace’s. The smoke must be making her delusional because she swears she hears the words she’s been praying to hear for ten years. 

“MIRACULOUS LADYBUG”

But then they come, the ladybugs. They swirl around her husband and the fires. They leave it as it should be, unbroken and safe. Carapace quickly turns off his back and grabs her in a hug. From the balcony they watch in awe as the ladybugs fix the city. The buildings are repaired and the smoke is cleared. The firefighters are restored confused but alive. The ladybugs return to their master and swirl around the man in red. The bugs attach to his back and reform back into the cape. 

Alya’s face fills with hope until the stranger turns around. Hope turns to horror “no…please no.”

The man has the typical akuma butterfly mask over his face. 

He approaches Nacht from behind and reaches for his ringed hand. Nacht snaps around and swings a claw. “You did your job, now go” Nacht orders coldly.

The man smirks “not even a thank you for saving you kitten?” Nacht’s ears twitch and the man chuckled. 

“I for one am very thankful” Lila chirps to get the attention back to her. She reaches her hand up for him to take. Nacht slaps it down without looking at her. 

“Ladybug has returned!” A random firefighter cries and the streets are suddenly filled with cheering people. Nacht’s ears pin back as they’re surrounded by people taking photos. The man seemed to enjoy the attention and posed for a few shots.

“Not quite” Lord says and the cheering ends as quickly as it started. “Yes I do hold the ladybug miraculous.” He gestures to his ears then puts his hands behind his back. “But I am not your hero, that miraculous cure was a freebee. All others will cost you.”

The crowd gasps and Lord turns towards Nacht. “The next one will cost a certain miraculous ring. And we all know for sure that these akuma attacks will not end until Hawk moth gains what’s rightfully his.” Lord steps closer to Nacht and they stare each other down. “Of course the akuma attacks will stop all together if you give it up now.” 

Nacht takes a step back and protectively hides the ringed hand. Alya runs out of the hotel with Carapace at her side. She stops in front of Lord with her back to Nacht. Nacht raises a brow under his mask, either she was very brave or very daft. “We will never surrender the miraculous to Hawk moth.” She snaps and jabs Lord in the chest. 

Lord’s eyes twinkle with amusement and they lock with Nacht’s. “I guess I’ll be seeing you around then.” He winks and throws the yo-yo onto the nearest building. 

“Are you going after him?” Carapace whips his head back only to see Nacht had run off. He sighs and grabs Alya’s shoulder. She on instinct grabs at her stomach. “Come on, we need to talk in private.”

“Is no one going to help me?” Lila whines now with tears streaming down her eyes. “My ankle is twisted I can’t walk on it.” Lila continues pointing to a perfectly fine ankle. She wipes away a tear and Alya sees the scar come off on her fingertips. It was makeup, another fucking lie. 

Alya raises a hand to strike when Carapace stops her. “Let’s leave it to the professionals” he whispers as the three men from earlier walk up to Lila. Alya sighs and lets him lead her out of there. 

Back in the graveyard Chloe tests out her newly restored hand. Adrian stands in front of the Ladybug statue. “At least the damage was restored from all this.” He mutters reaching out to touch the base of the statue. 

“And I learned you are not to be trusted” Chloe snaps. She picks up the miraculous box and shoves it into her purse. Adrian doesn’t dare turn around to face her. “You want to stay retired? Fine” Chloe stamps her foot and opens her jacket for Pollen to fly in. The kwami throws Adrian a look of pity and enters the jacket. 

“Do I at least get a ride back?” Adrian looks back to see Chloe stomping off. 

“Nope” she answers and soon Adrian hears the motorcycle start up. Adrian sighs and looks down at the ground. 

 

“You have to stop this guardian, you know Hawk moth is lying to you!”

Chat Noir stood against an akuma he never thought he would see. The akuma had a beard that trailed to the floor and bright red skin. He wore a rice hat and what appeared to be Chinese style battle armour. He sat in the air on a red velvet pillow with the miracle box gripped tightly to his chest.

“This can work black cat. As Daja Fu I have the power to repeat events. With enough power I can go back and fix your mistake.”Daja Fu protectively holds the box in his hands. “With these I shall gain enough power to go back to that night. And I’ll go back and stop myself from ever giving that ring to a failure like-!” 

Daja suddenly gasps and falls off the pillow. The miracle box falls out of his hands and he falls after it. Chat ignores the box and catches Fu before he hit the ground. The box lands behind them with a loud crack. The akuma form falls off revealing an old broken man. Chat shakes his shoulders gently “Guardian, Guardian.” 

The only sound is the flapping of the akuma nearby. It could no longer provide the form because the emotions of its target had vanished. All emotions had vanished, the man was nothing but an empty husk now. 

Chat bows his head as tears threatened to spill from his eyes. The akuma swoops down to take hold and Chat snatches it out of the air. With cold eyes the cataclysm turns the akuma to ash. 

Chat gently places Fu’s body down and closes the frozen eyes with his fingers. His claw trails down and stops at the bracelet on the master’s wrist. Chat recognises the design and slowly tugs it off. He turns to see the miracle box with several miraculous’s sprawled out on the floor. 

He picks up each and places it back in the miracle box. He pauses on the last one, the bee comb. 

 

“I made a lot of mistakes milady, but at least I did one thing right.” Adrian mutters watching the motorcycle drive off. 

A few hours later Luka sits on a couch opposite Juleka and Rose. The girls were huddled together in a dark purple blanket with Juleka gently running her fingers though Rose’s hair. Rose sighs as the TV replays the events from earlier. “It’s miraculous…but I feel so empty.”

“Hawk moth has no right to use the ladybug miraculous that way.” Juleka growls and fails to notice her brother’s flinch.  
The news and downtown Paris was in chaos. People banging at the mayor’s office demanding for him to do something. They had bonfires set up where people threw in Ladybug and Chat Noir merchandise. The city of lights became the city of ash and fury. Any one of them could become an akuma at any moment. 

It’s too much. Luka excuses himself and retreats to his room. He closes the door behind him and yanks open his night stand. Tikki sits inside next to socks and his phone. He gently picks her up and sits on his bed. “What do we do Tikki? I tried to resist him…I thought I had.” His voice quivers and his shoulders hunch. 

“Hawk moth is very powerful, you did everything you could.” Tikki holds his thumb trying to keep him together. 

“I said the miraculous rightfully belonged to him.” Luka hisses so the girls wouldn’t overhear them. “What am I supposed to do?”

“We fight” Tikki responds and flies up to his face to make him look at her. “You’re a ladybug now and we never give in. Despite the consequences of our meeting I’m happy my new wielder is you. You saved Nacht Katze from decay, you helped stop the akuma and fix the mess.” Tikki smiles confidently “And we will find a way to stop Hawk moth.”

Luka smiles weakly “you did these pep talks to Marinette too?”

Tikki nods with a shiver of tears in her eyes. “Of course, I do it to all my ladybugs.” 

“Could you tell me more about the decay? What happened to Nacht back there?” Luka asks glancing over at his phone. No akuma alert yet.

Tikki nods “the black cat and ladybug miraculous are connected. Two half’s that make a whole….so when only one is activated it’s off balance. It grows stronger and stronger until it begins to destroy its wielder.” She pauses to look out the window and hear the distant sirens of fire trucks. “When you came you restored that balance and healed him.”

“So we’re connected now?” Luka asks rubbing at the side of his neck. Remembering the rough tongue against it, despite everything it makes his face flush.

“Yes but it doesn’t mean romantically” Tikki explains not seeing his blush in the dark. “The miraculous will pull you together so you become a stronger team. With Hawk moth in the picture it makes it complicated but…I’m sure we can pull though this.”

“I’d like to show Hawk fuck a thing or two.” Luka sighs and touches the Ladybug on his arm. “I guess if it means teaming up with a murderer then so be it.” 

“Hawk fuck, I like it” Tikki rolls the name off her tongue. Her squeaky voice makes both of them giggle softly. 

Nacht shouldn’t be here, he shouldn’t be anywhere. He should be dead. Instead his boots hit the ground hard and he runs across the rooftops. He doesn’t care that Plagg never told him about the decay. He doesn’t care that the kwami must have hoped for him to die. It doesn’t bother him, it doesn’t!

He knew about the chaos downtown but he doesn’t head that way. He knows the people of Paris hate him, he knows they would rip him apart the second they saw him. He doesn’t care about that.

He cares about one thing, and that’s at the Cesaire house.

The balcony was the same as he remembered it. He doesn’t think twice about picking the lock with his claws and stepping inside. There was a divider in the room now, he could tell which side belonged to who based off the things inside. He enters the one with a salt lamp gently glowing and passes a table filled with different crystals. His eyes spot a familiar rose quartz and he gently picks it up in his claws.

The door opens and he sees them. The wide brown eyes, the same t-shirt and jeans separated by nothing but colour and a scar on the left ones chin. “Ella…Etta” Nacht whispers as if afraid if he spoke too loud she would crumble to dust. The twins stand like deer caught in headlights. Nacht sets the crystal down and takes a step towards them. “I…I came as fast as I could…I’m sorry.” 

Ella seems to recover enough to step ahead of her sister. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the cat tail charm. “I knew you would come Nacht…but I don’t want to be your Nacht watcher anymore. After seeing what you did to the principal…even though it was fixed. I just…” Her eyes shiver with tears and start a lump in Nacht’s gut. “You really are a monster, and you need to leave.” She bundles all the strength she can muster in her voice and weakly tosses the charm towards him. 

Nacht catches the charm easily and stares down at it. The little button on the side that warned him of an akuma attack seemed to taunt him. Nacht’s cat ears press against his head. He turns his back to them and walks towards the balcony. His footsteps ever silent, like a ghost in cats clothing. 

He left the girls room for the last time. They were alive, that was all that mattered. 

Meanwhile back in the Lord of trash’s mansion Gabriel stands across from a golden glass coffin. His miraculous beaming under his tie as every possible akuma victim appeared. Nooroo floats by his side, already the timid kwami missed Tikki. “Are you…are you going to make another akuma?” he asks not wanting to look his Master in the eye.

“No Nooroo” Gabriel’s voice echo’s in the large room. “Like a good chef I want the chaos to marinate in paranoia and fear just a little longer. Who knows? Perhaps it will give me the recipe Nacht’s defeat. And I will finally make amends for my mistakes.” He makes a fist and his glasses reflect off the glass. 

In one eye it’s Emilie looking as young as she did when she first fell asleep. The other held Nathalie, her glasses still on and not a hair out of place.


End file.
